Wellness workers helping students cope

In the wake of a recently released study that found cases of youth self-harm are on the rise in Canada, Chinook's Edge School Division (CESD) wellness workers are striving to ensure students here have the skills they need to safely deal with stress.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) study, girls between the ages 10 and 17 are four times more likely than boys to be hospitalized for self-harm.

During the 2013-14 school year, around 17,500 Canadian youth were hospitalized for injuries, and approximately 3,000 of those hospitalizations were for intentional injuries, either self-inflicted or caused by others, the study found.

Almost 2,500 of those hospitalizations were for self-harm and girls made up more than 80 per cent of them.

"The data also shows that an increasing number of girls were hospitalized for harming themselves with a sharp object, such as by 'cutting' – making small cuts to the body, usually on the arms or legs," the CIHI said in press release.

It also says the hospitalization rate for girls has increased by 90 per cent over the last five years, while the hospitalization rate for boys has decreased.

"Still, for girls and boys, the majority of self-harm hospitalizations were a result of intentional poisoning. Prescription medications were the most commonly used substance; others included narcotics, illegal drugs, alcohol and chemical solvents."

Joanne Crook, a family school wellness supervisor with CESD, said wellness workers at division schools assist students with building skills to cope with stress in a healthy manner.

"For formal school wellness workers and really for a school division, what we work to do is to help students build skills," said Crook. "So to build skills to cope with whatever may be causing them distress or to manage the relationships in their lives and that kind of thing so that they're coping well."

Wellness workers may have students perform relaxation and focussing skills, and will refer them to a doctor or mental health practitioner if they see fit.

The CIHI study also found that boys claimed two thirds of the 500 hospitalizations for intentional assault victims. Most of the boys hospitalized for this were between the ages 14 and 17.

"In 2013-14, bodily force and other maltreatment such as child abuse accounted for more than 70 per cent of hospitalizations for assault," the CIHI said.

"While youth aged 14 to 17 made up the highest proportion of victims of most types of assault, children younger than five accounted for 30 per cent of child abuse victims."