Young people’s mental health and wellbeing
Young people who are admitted to our youth detention centres may have a variety of mental health concerns, including:
- depression
- anxiety
- self-harming behaviours
- substance misuse
- anger and difficulties regulating emotions
- challenges developing social skills.
Some may also have been diagnosed with impairments or disabilities, such as:
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
- autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
We have supports in place to help your child with their mental health and wellbeing while they are in youth detention centres. Our youth detention centres also use trauma-informed practices.
Who’s here to help
Multidisciplinary staff
We employ specialist staff in our youth detention centres, including:
- psychologists
- speech-language pathologists
- caseworkers.
Forensic child and youth mental health service
This mental health service operated by Queensland Health provides on-site services during business hours, as well as after-hours support. Service staff include:
- psychiatrists
- clinical psychologists
- Indigenous health workers
- speech-language pathologists
- occupational therapists
- social workers.
Detention youth workers and other operational staff
All youth detention operational staff are trained in:
- aspects of mental health
- complex behaviour
- suicide and self-harm response
- communication and de-escalation techniques.
Detention youth workers will support your child in their daily activities and record observations. Staff participate in daily suicide risk assessment meetings and will refer your child to specialist staff if they think your child needs extra support.
Arriving at a youth detention centre
Your child will have a health assessment when they arrive at the youth detention centre. This includes assessing risk of self-harm or suicide.
Your child will be asked if they have existing mental health concerns and if they are on medication. Queensland Health will help your child continue to get support and medication while they are in detention.
Self-harm and suicide risk
Youth detention staff regularly discuss and update each young person’s suicide prevention plan. The updates are based on:
- current risks
- current needs
- their protective factors (things in their life that help connect and support them)
- how they are engaging in therapeutic interventions.
If we assess your child as having suicide risk, staff make scheduled checks on them and document this along with any changes in their behaviour. We will review your child each day to see if those observations need to increase or decrease and if they need extra support.
Our caseworkers and psychologists provide intensive support to reduce your child’s risks over time.
Assessment and therapeutic support
We will assess your child to see if they need support and intervention to help their mental health and wellbeing. Our multidisciplinary staff may do a range of formal assessments if they are needed.
We tailor our support to each young person. Our staff use a number of therapeutic styles and strategies, including:
- cognitive behavioural therapy
- motivational interviewing
- acceptance and commitment therapy
- dialectical behaviour therapy
- solution-focused brief therapy.
Your child will be able to set up goals they wish to work toward during their sessions with the multi-disciplinary team. We will help your child identify their strengths and build confidence to achieve their goals.
We will also help your child:
- identify and understand their emotions
- identify their triggers
- identify maladaptive thought patterns (false, irrational, negative and persistent thoughts)
- learn to seek help
- learn how to regulate their emotions
- learn to make better choices
- learn to advocate for themselves.
Our speech-language pathologists will support your child if they have additional communication needs and provide help for speech or language. They will also talk to staff at the youth detention centre’s school to make sure they get the right support there.
National Disability Insurance Scheme
If your child has a disability and doesn’t get help from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), our staff will help with their application.
More information
- Read more about what happens in detention.
- Learn who else is here to help young people in detention.