Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Mental health is crucial for child and adolescent development, but lack of resources often leads to silent suffering and missed opportunities. Establishing child guidance clinics (CGCs) is a step toward holistic care. During COVID, children faced disruptions to schooling, isolation, family stress, a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harshita Biswas, Manoj Kumar Sahoo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-05-01
Series:Industrial Psychiatry Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ipj.ipj_28_25
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849391728814981120
author Harshita Biswas
Manoj Kumar Sahoo
author_facet Harshita Biswas
Manoj Kumar Sahoo
author_sort Harshita Biswas
collection DOAJ
description Mental health is crucial for child and adolescent development, but lack of resources often leads to silent suffering and missed opportunities. Establishing child guidance clinics (CGCs) is a step toward holistic care. During COVID, children faced disruptions to schooling, isolation, family stress, and increased digital exposure, leading to a rise in mental health issues. The stressors have left a long-term psychological impact on our lives even after years post-COVID. The study examines the 10-year journey of a CGC that which navigated the changes brought about by COVID-19, highlighting the importance of mental health for child and adolescent development. The CGC’s register, which has systematic documentation of patient details, was used to retrospectively analyze patient records for the last 10 years. Data were extracted and organized to identify trends and patterns across diagnoses. Post-COVID-19, cases of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, global developmental delay, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and behavioral disorders have increased. There are fluctuations in cases of Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), phobia, depression, and anxiety. Emotional disorders, though initially had fluctuating numbers, have also increased after the pandemic. However, expressive speech disorders, psychosis, and learning disabilities were found to be stable without many shifts. Conclusion: CGCs in India are vital in addressing the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Post-COVID, the increase in mental health concerns of children and adolescents demands more focused care and a multi-disciplinary team approach.
format Article
id doaj-art-2fcbb07903d1453c920a3d5a55607f3c
institution Kabale University
issn 0972-6748
0976-2795
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Industrial Psychiatry Journal
spelling doaj-art-2fcbb07903d1453c920a3d5a55607f3c2025-08-20T03:40:58ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndustrial Psychiatry Journal0972-67480976-27952025-05-0134234034410.4103/ipj.ipj_28_25Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemicHarshita BiswasManoj Kumar SahooMental health is crucial for child and adolescent development, but lack of resources often leads to silent suffering and missed opportunities. Establishing child guidance clinics (CGCs) is a step toward holistic care. During COVID, children faced disruptions to schooling, isolation, family stress, and increased digital exposure, leading to a rise in mental health issues. The stressors have left a long-term psychological impact on our lives even after years post-COVID. The study examines the 10-year journey of a CGC that which navigated the changes brought about by COVID-19, highlighting the importance of mental health for child and adolescent development. The CGC’s register, which has systematic documentation of patient details, was used to retrospectively analyze patient records for the last 10 years. Data were extracted and organized to identify trends and patterns across diagnoses. Post-COVID-19, cases of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, global developmental delay, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and behavioral disorders have increased. There are fluctuations in cases of Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), phobia, depression, and anxiety. Emotional disorders, though initially had fluctuating numbers, have also increased after the pandemic. However, expressive speech disorders, psychosis, and learning disabilities were found to be stable without many shifts. Conclusion: CGCs in India are vital in addressing the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Post-COVID, the increase in mental health concerns of children and adolescents demands more focused care and a multi-disciplinary team approach.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ipj.ipj_28_25child and adolescent mental healthchild guidance clinicscovid-19
spellingShingle Harshita Biswas
Manoj Kumar Sahoo
Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Industrial Psychiatry Journal
child and adolescent mental health
child guidance clinics
covid-19
title Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Navigating change: The journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort navigating change the journey of the child guidance clinic before and after the covid 19 pandemic
topic child and adolescent mental health
child guidance clinics
covid-19
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ipj.ipj_28_25
work_keys_str_mv AT harshitabiswas navigatingchangethejourneyofthechildguidanceclinicbeforeandafterthecovid19pandemic
AT manojkumarsahoo navigatingchangethejourneyofthechildguidanceclinicbeforeandafterthecovid19pandemic