Mental Health Caribbean
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Child and Adolescent

Child and Adolescent

From the start, MHC has provided care for children and adolescents on Saba and St. Eustatius. The care was provided by our child and adolescent psychiatrist, a GZ (health care) psychologist and (community psychiatric) nurses.

Previously, the psychiatric care offered to children and adolescents on Bonaire was in collaboration with the Hospital Fundashon Mariadal. However, the insurance company ZVK requested MHC to develop more structured and detailed child & adolescent psychiatry. Therefore, MHC launched the child & adolescent program as of September 2016, by appointing a child & adolescent psychiatrist, GZ (healthcare) psychologist, family therapist and a team leader.

Besides mental healthcare for children and adolescents, MHC provides consultation and support for all other stakeholders involved with the care for children on Bonaire, Saba & St. Eustatius. This is in addition to promoting prevention by early identification of psychological and psychiatric problems.

MHC focuses mainly on collaboration with other stakeholders in care, education and the social field. Where necessary, MHC Child and Adolescent also promotes societal awareness and attempts to influence important beneficial or impeding factors, within and outside the environment of children, adolescents and their families.

The ambition of the MHC Child and Adolescent team is to enable all children and adolescents to have a fair chance to optimally develop into resilient adults. The primary focus is on children and adolescents with psychiatric or psychological vulnerability.

‘Building on Fair Chances for All Youth’

Alongside the reinforcement of the existing non-residential youth services, the Child and Adolescent team has openend a Treatment Centre on Bonaire in early 2018.  This centre is not only intended for the youth on Bonaire, but also available for the admission of youngsters from Saba and St. Eustatius. An admission is temporary and solely intended as a support of the non-residential/ out-patient treatment process.