Last week after I wrote about how some youth with worsening mental health symptoms might not get help because no one notices, the youth that I know began to come to me with their own suggestions. “Dr. Beck, you have to write a blog and tell people how to prevent loneliness.” “You know, Dr. Beck, …
In every city, in every region, across the country – probably around the world – the youth mental health crisis is building. In their bedrooms, in their parents’ basements, in shelters, young people are “attending” virtual classes while they dwindle away, becoming less and less confident about their future. These are youth who were already …
Originally posted on Dr. Gail Beck:
I was pleased that TheScientificParent.org asked me to write a guest blog in response to the shootings in Louisiana. I seek to address how a parent can help children and youth cope with difficult news. They also have good advice on other topics as well, which I hope will…
I took two weeks off over the holiday. This is the most vacation time I have had since January 2020. Like many of my colleagues, I have been working directly with patients: on an inpatient unit and in a school. While I was away from this clinical work for two full weeks, there was one …
My favourite Christmas gifts are, and have always been, books. When I was six, my family had just moved to a small Quebec town where there was no bookstore that sold English books. My godfather gave me TEN BOOKS for Christmas. It was my best present. I remember distinctly that they were not all books …
It has certainly been a day of mixed emotions for many working in Healthcare in Ontario. On the one hand, it was such a relief to see the first people in Ottawa receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Then, at the end of the day, as I sat down to write about how it felt to know …
Across North America, there is holiday planning happening. The pandemic has changed planning, but most people are still doing their best to eke out some pleasure from a period that is often considered one of the most joyous of the year. I hope everyone reading this is planning a happy holiday, but my heart will …
“Dr. Beck, why did you become a doctor?” This question was asked by one of my 17 year old patients who is thinking about what to study in university. I have known the answer to her question for many years. People often ask me, but I have always known the answer. “My high school Biology …
How many people have you heard say lately that they wish they didn’t have to spend so much time at home? When we hear or read about “COVID fatigue”, those images of crowded gatherings spring to mind – the kind you attend when you are just so fed up that you don’t care what happens …
Children around the world are growing up in poverty and this has only gotten worse during the pandemic. We sentimentalize childhood, but practically speaking, we do not provide children with the tangible support they need. A study completed in September 2020 by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) showed that there has been a …
