Re: Have you hugged a therapist today?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Something related from today's issue of the Schafer Autism Report.

Stressed-Out Moms At Risk of Poor Mental Health

http://tinyurl.com/2ohghm

Reuters Health - Mothers of young children who feel they lack

emotional support or help in caring for their children have more than

three-times the risk of mental health problems compared to their

peers who

feel adequately supported, a new study shows.

More than one third of the 1,747 mothers participating in the

study

reported at least one parenting stressor that boosted their risk of

mental

health problems, Dr. Ritesh Mistry of the University of California,

Los

Angeles and colleagues note in the American Journal of Public

Health. " If

parenting stressors such as those examined here are to be addressed,

changes

may be required in community support systems, and improvements in

relevant

social policies may be needed, " they conclude.

Mothers of small children are known to face a substantial risk

of

mental health problems and their mental health has a " strong

influence " on

their child's health and development, the researchers note.

Mistry and associates conducted the study to determine how

certain

parenting-related stressors might affect mothers' mental health and

whether

these stressors were related to financial and social factors.

The mothers of children 4 to 35 months old completed a five-

item

questionnaire to assess their general mental health.

Women who reported feeling a lack of emotional support (they

had no

one to rely on for day-to-day emotional help with parenting)

represented

nearly 14 percent of the total sample and were 3.4 times more likely

to

report being in poor mental health, the researchers found.

Roughly 12 percent of mothers who said they lacked functional

support

in caring for their children (they had no one to care for their

children

when they needed a break) had a 2.2-times greater risk of poor mental

health.

When asked about time spent with their child, 37.2 percent of

mothers

said they spent too little, 11.2 percent said they spent too much,

and 51.6

percent said the amount of time they spent with their child was just

right.

While mothers who said they spent too little time with their

children had a

slightly increased risk of poor mental health, those who said they

spent too

much time had a 3.5-times greater risk of mental health problems.

Overall, mothers who reported having one parenting-related

stressor

had triple the risk of poor mental health, while having two or more

stressors increased risk nearly 12-fold.

Improving family leave policies and making high quality child

care

more " affordable and accessible " could help ease the stresses on

parents

identified in the current study, they add. They conclude by calling

for

further research to investigate how such stresses affect fathers'

mental

health.

SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health, July 2007.

>

> Hi,

>

> I'm not normally one to send a gushy, sentimental email to a

zillion folks I don't know, but today happened to mark the last day

that one of our therapists will be working with . She has been

with us for 6 years, through three colleges (an undergraduate degree

and a master's), and two houses.

>

> My wife wrote her a beautiful note and I think we sent her off

with enough presents to let her know what she meant to us. I hope

too that we thanked her every time she worked with . No matter

what we did, it wasn't enough to offset what she provided for us.

>

> I know that she was paid, and paid reasonably well, but not enough

for what she did for us. And, I also know that had nothing to do

with why she stayed.

>

> So, I hope you'll all take the time to say something to each of

the folks working in your home aba programs, or wherever to let

those people know how important they are.

>

> Ron

> _________________________________________________________________

> Change is good. See what's different about Windows Live Hotmail.

> http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/learnmore/default.html?

locale=en-us & ocid=RMT_TAGLM_HMWL_reten_changegood_0507

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Something related from today's issue of the Schafer Autism Report.

Stressed-Out Moms At Risk of Poor Mental Health

http://tinyurl.com/2ohghm

Reuters Health - Mothers of young children who feel they lack

emotional support or help in caring for their children have more than

three-times the risk of mental health problems compared to their

peers who

feel adequately supported, a new study shows.

More than one third of the 1,747 mothers participating in the

study

reported at least one parenting stressor that boosted their risk of

mental

health problems, Dr. Ritesh Mistry of the University of California,

Los

Angeles and colleagues note in the American Journal of Public

Health. " If

parenting stressors such as those examined here are to be addressed,

changes

may be required in community support systems, and improvements in

relevant

social policies may be needed, " they conclude.

Mothers of small children are known to face a substantial risk

of

mental health problems and their mental health has a " strong

influence " on

their child's health and development, the researchers note.

Mistry and associates conducted the study to determine how

certain

parenting-related stressors might affect mothers' mental health and

whether

these stressors were related to financial and social factors.

The mothers of children 4 to 35 months old completed a five-

item

questionnaire to assess their general mental health.

Women who reported feeling a lack of emotional support (they

had no

one to rely on for day-to-day emotional help with parenting)

represented

nearly 14 percent of the total sample and were 3.4 times more likely

to

report being in poor mental health, the researchers found.

Roughly 12 percent of mothers who said they lacked functional

support

in caring for their children (they had no one to care for their

children

when they needed a break) had a 2.2-times greater risk of poor mental

health.

When asked about time spent with their child, 37.2 percent of

mothers

said they spent too little, 11.2 percent said they spent too much,

and 51.6

percent said the amount of time they spent with their child was just

right.

While mothers who said they spent too little time with their

children had a

slightly increased risk of poor mental health, those who said they

spent too

much time had a 3.5-times greater risk of mental health problems.

Overall, mothers who reported having one parenting-related

stressor

had triple the risk of poor mental health, while having two or more

stressors increased risk nearly 12-fold.

Improving family leave policies and making high quality child

care

more " affordable and accessible " could help ease the stresses on

parents

identified in the current study, they add. They conclude by calling

for

further research to investigate how such stresses affect fathers'

mental

health.

SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health, July 2007.

>

> Hi,

>

> I'm not normally one to send a gushy, sentimental email to a

zillion folks I don't know, but today happened to mark the last day

that one of our therapists will be working with . She has been

with us for 6 years, through three colleges (an undergraduate degree

and a master's), and two houses.

>

> My wife wrote her a beautiful note and I think we sent her off

with enough presents to let her know what she meant to us. I hope

too that we thanked her every time she worked with . No matter

what we did, it wasn't enough to offset what she provided for us.

>

> I know that she was paid, and paid reasonably well, but not enough

for what she did for us. And, I also know that had nothing to do

with why she stayed.

>

> So, I hope you'll all take the time to say something to each of

the folks working in your home aba programs, or wherever to let

those people know how important they are.

>

> Ron

> _________________________________________________________________

> Change is good. See what's different about Windows Live Hotmail.

> http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/learnmore/default.html?

locale=en-us & ocid=RMT_TAGLM_HMWL_reten_changegood_0507

>

>

>