R E P O R T O F T H E C O M M I T T E E O N M E N T A L H Y G I E N E

PLAN FOR TEACHING OF MENTAL HYGIENE

T H E Committee on Mental Hygiene of the American Academy of Pediatr ics would like to make the following comments regarBing the, teaching of mental

hygiene in the medical schools and suggest o, program for this teaching.

1. I t is generally agreed tha t pediatrics concerns i tself with growth and develop- meat of children. This definition implies a consideration of those factors which st imulate an optimum growth and development of each child, the problems, of child rearing, and ~he care and general supervision of sick axed well children.

2. The teaching of all phases of the subject to medical students~ interns, and residents enables them to grasp the problems of the whole child and the child as a whole.

3, I n teaching the fundamenta l principles of normal growth or heal th of children, the intellectual and emotionM as well as its physical phases are considered. In addi- tion~ medieM students can learn to analyze and evaluate the effect of environmental factors on the mentM and physical health of children.

4. Because of the integral relationshis between physical and mental growth and the physiologic influence of one upon the other, a consideration of mental health is an important par t of every pediatr ic teaching program. This becomes more im- por tant when one realizes the importance of the first two years of life, which period is almost entirely under the care of a pediatrician, or general practi t ioner of medi- cine. During the first par t of life, physical and mental growth cannot be easily distinguished from one another ; the same reactions have physiologic and emotional at t r ibutes. Good physical hygiene is good mental hygiene and vice versa. EspeeiMly during infancy, mental heal th is dependent upon physical heMth and vice versa.

5. Fbr these reasons, the Committee on Mental Hygiene would like to suggest to the chiefs of the departments of pediatrics of medical schools and hospitals the following plan of teaching.

I. A short series of lectures to first year m~dleal s tudents which will sensitize them, orient them, and awaken them to the tremendous importance of this phase of child cure and its relation to prv~etical medical practice.

I I . A course in growth and development in the department of pediatrics which would br ing out the interrelat ionship of physical and mental health.

I I I . A course in the department of pediatrics eo~ering habits, management of emotional difficulties, a t t i tudes and techniques of parents, social adjustment~ adoles- cence, and the management of problems such as anorexia, enuresis, and school prob- lems. This course should stress preventive technique. I t should consider the signs of serious behavior problems in need of extreme psychiatric care.

IV. The mental hygiene aspect of the managemen~ of sick children should be integrated with bedside and clinic teaching. The well-baby clinic can be utilized to demonstrate normal growth and the psychologic as well as the physical care of normal babies.

V. I t is fe l t tha t mental heal th can, par t ly as least, be t aught by the pediatric s ta f f or by those who speak and feel the pediatric idiom ra ther than by psychiatrists without pediatric t ra in ing or experience. A pediatr ician who has had t ra in ing and experience in mental hygiene problems of children may be bet ter able to present the subject to medical stt~dents than u psychiatr ist who has not had extensive experience with children,

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VI. A mental hygiene clinic in the depa~'tments of pediatrics h~s an invaluable influence on medical students and the pediatric staff. In this wa.y every one can observe psychiatric technique and follow his own cases which are largely lost if referred to another department.

VII. Machinery can be set up in pediatric wards and hospitals for teaching in- terns and house officers.

In proposing this program, it is recognized that i t is a matter for each school and hospital to work out a program in keeping with its facilities and methods of teaching.

R.espectfnlly submitted, Chairman, Dr. Bert L Beverly

Dr. C. A. Aldrich Dr. George l~[ohr Dr. Frederick H. Allen Dr. Arthur t t . Parmelee Dr. Hm'ton Casparis Dr. Victor E. Stork Dr. Bronson Crothers

The above report has been approved by the Executive Board since the meeting in Cincinnati, as well as the following recommendations:

1. I t is recommended that the name of the coCnmittee be changed to the Committee on Men%al ]~IeMth.

2. The committee suggests that the programs of the Academy should include more papers on mental health. They specifically suggest a panel discussion and at least one round table devoted to the subject at the next annual meeting. The committee will be glad to aid in any way in forming these programs.

3. The papers on mental health topics being published in THE JOUI~NAL OF ]PED~ATI~ICIS are to. be continued.

4. The Committee on Mental I-Iygiene will suggest to the Committee on E,ducation Chat a copy of the suggested progra~x for the teaching of mental hygiene in the medical schbols be sent to the dean and the chief of the department of pediatrics of each medical school. We wish to emphasize that this program is suggested only; each medical school must, of necessity, work out its own program for teaching.

5. The Committee on Mental Hygiene feels that motion pictures, scientifically written and produced free of advertising, could do much to focus attention on the principles of mental health. The opinion was expressed that the committee should stimulate interest in the production of such pictures in a way commensurate with the policy of rite Academy.

6. The committee will make recommendation on the management of adolescents in hospitals and clinics in the near future.