What Is Psychological Wellness?
PSYCH SOLUTIONS
Enhancing Psychological Wellness in Children, Adolescents, Young Adults & Their Families
Dr. O'Connor, a licensed clinical and school psychologist, offers psychological assessments, along with resources and books to help promote psychological wellness in children, adolescents, young adults and their families.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines psychological or mental well-being as not just the absence of mental illness, but as a state of thriving where individuals can:
- realize their abilities and achieve their personal potentials.
- cope with the normal stressors and challenges of daily life.
- work productively and contribute to their community.
WHO describes psychological wellness as a "fundamental human right."
Click here, to review the WHO Fact Sheet.
Psychological wellness has been referred to as our emotional, psychological and overall functioning. Mental health in childhood includes reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills and how to cope when there are problems. The quality of children's relationships and the environments where they grow up shapes their well being and development, not only during childhood and adolescence, but throughout their life spans.
Psychological wellness in children is associated with good ability to function appropriately at school, when interacting with peers and when engaging in activities within their community. Children who demonstrate psychological well-being show appropriate coping skills when dealing with life challenges and its many stressors, such as the ability to regulate their emotions and behaviours, to enjoy and develop positive relationships with others, to focus, attend, learn and problem solve
Psychological well being in children applies to their mental and emotional health, and is just as important to their developmental trajectory as their physical health. The promotion of psychological wellness in children must begin at the beginning, not only at birth, but during the prenatal period, and prior even to conception.
Research, for example, indicates that paternal cannabis use, prior to conception, or during the conception period, can have detrimental affects on fetal brain development. Although, the focus of preconception and pregnancy research has long centred on maternal health, including maternal substance use, in considering child wellness, we must also turn our focus to paternal health.
Psych Solutions
Dr. O’Connor is the founder of Psych Solutions, a company she established to sharpen her focus on psychological well-being in children, adolescents, young adults, and their families. Through her company, Psych Solutions, Dr. O'Connor offers psychological services to promote psychological wellness in children, adolescents, young adults, and their families.
Dr. O'Connor's psychological services deepen understanding of the psychological challenges young people and their families face. This, in turn, leads to various forms of support and evidence-based interventions. These, in turn, help promote positive psychological outcomes for young people and their families, despite the psychological challenges they may face.
Throughout her career, Dr. O'Connor has focused on the promotion of psychological well-being in young people and their families. Dr. O'Connor's services - the books and resources she creates, and the comprehensive psychological assessments she offers - increase understanding of the psychological challenges that young people face, and how to address these challenges with appropriate supports and evidence-based interventions.
Through her business, Psych Solutions, Dr. O’Connor, a registered clinical psychologist, offers specific psychological services to promote positive psychological outcomes in children, adolescents, young adults, and their families.
Her services include:
- Psych Testing Solutions: Dr. O’Connor offers in-depth, comprehensive school neuropsychological assessments that help get to the root of the psychological concerns that worry you and lead to evidence-based interventions.
- Psych Wellness Publishing: Dr O’Connor’s publishing company, Psych Books, offers books and resources for mental health professionals, parents and other family members to help promote positive psychological outcomes in children, adolescents, young adults and their families.
- Psych Experts: Dr. O’Connor provides various resources/books to serve the best interests of children, adolescents, young adults, and those who work with them in our family courts, educational systems, and other capacities. She publishes these materials through Psych Wellness Publishing, an imprint of Psych Books.
Mission Statement
Dr. O’Connor believes that “Understanding the Problem is the Key to Solving It. Her mission is to provide psychological services to increase understanding of the psychological problems that plague children, adolescents, young adults and their families. This, in turn, will lead to knowledge and intervention strategies to help ameliorate or help prevent psychological concerns in young people and their families. The goal is to provide research- and evidence-based information and knowledge to those who work with young people, and their families, and to young people themselves to help promote positive psychological outcomes despite the challenges they face. The ultimate goal is to help build resilience and psychological well-being in the young person.
A Multi-Pronged Approach
Many of the determinants of psychological well-being, including both risks and protective factors, lie outside the health sector, within our families, for example, our schools and our educational systems, our justice systems, and in my experience within our family courts. Hence, the effective promotion and enhancement of psychological well-being in children, as well as the prevention of psychological harm, require cross-sector collaboration. This should embrace the educational sector, as well as the legal/justice system, the environment and other systems that affect individuals and their families.