Information for Parents

The George Hull Centre is for children and youth from 0 to 18 years of age and their families. The Centre provides professional consultation, support and family treatment for a broad range of problems affecting the mental health of children and youth.

A mental health professional will meet with you, your child and other family members to begin to understand your situation and to plan an appropriate course of action with you.

You begin by calling the Intake Office at 622-8833, extension 258. You may want to know about our services or you may want to make an appointment. The Intake Coordinator will talk to you about your concerns and gather some information to help us to begin to understand your situation. She may schedule an initial consultation interview or suggest that you speak directly with a mental health professional.

The Intake Coordinator will ask you questions about the problem or situation for which you are seeking assistance. She will also collect basic demographic, health and other background information required for us to start to plan services with you.

The George Hull Centre, like all other children's mental health centres in the province, uses the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview to collect intake information. Your responses to the BCFPI will provide valuable information to be used by your clinician in assessing your situation, needs and the kind of assistance that is likely to be helpful. The BCFPI will also help the Centre to prioritize referrals based upon the severity of the problem and the urgency of the situation. If you require services from more than one centre, with your permission, the BCFPI information can be shared directly, saving you the time of answering the same questions all over again.

Information from the results of the BCFPI from around the province will be used by the government and childrens mental health centres to learn more about the mental health problems of Ontario children and to plan services accordingly. Please note, however, that data which is collected provincially will not identify any individual or family by name. Your responses will remain confidential within the Centre for use by your mental health professional in developing a plan for you.

A consultation interview can usually be offered within a few weeks. The consultation interview will give you an opportunity to discuss your situation face-to-face with a mental health professional, and develop new ideas of steps which you can begin to take. You will learn about the range of services available at the Centre and may also find out about resources in the community. If your child or family require additional assessment or regular, ongoing contact, there may be a further wait of one to several months.

You will be invited to attend groups and workshops at the Centre while you are waiting. However, if you need help in the meantime, you can contact the mental health professional you met at the consultation interview.

The George Hull Centre is staffed by social work, psychiatry, psychology, child and youth work, early childhood education and speech and language pathology. Many of the staff at the Centre have fifteen or more years of experience in the field, and have taught students or other professionals.

Please feel free to ask staff about their professional qualifications and experience.

You will meet with a mental health professional and talk about your concerns and needs. You will be asked to bring along other family members in order to provide as broad a perspective as possible.

Youth may wish to be seen on their own, and this is fine.

If you are unsure about who should attend the initial session, please contact the Intake Coordinator or ask that the mental health professional call you to discuss the matter.

This will depend upon your situation and need. Families usually come weekly or every second week. Some situations can be resolved in a few sessions, while others require meetings over the course of a few months or longer. Sometimes families will meet intensively at a certain stage in their childrens lives and then return from time to time for a few sessions in order to address specific issues.

Please speak openly about your concerns and be sure to ask questions when you are unsure about something.

Try to keep an open mind to new ideas or information that may come up in sessions. Just meeting and talking as a family sometimes throws new light on a situation or serves as a positive experience.

Many answers will come from your own insight with time, effort and patience.

Most problems take a long time to build up. Be patient with yourself and do not expect overnight solutions. It may take awhile for things to be better.

Yes. Your involvement with the Centre is private and confidential. Your information will be shared only among George Hull Centre staff and students who need to know in order to help with your situation. All staff and students are bound by rules of confidentiality.

Private and confidential information is released only with the consent of the parent, young person or their legal representative. Exceptions are made in the case of suspected child abuse, where reporting is mandatory; where the law requires disclosure through a court order; or where the client or another person is at serious risk of harm.

If you have any questions about confidentiality, please raise them with your mental health professional. Privacy Policy

The George Hull Centre is a teaching centre for graduate students in social work and psychology, psychiatric residents, medical students, child and youth work, speech and language, nursing and early childhood education students. With your consent a student may be assigned to work with you. In all cases the student is supervised by a full-time staff member who is responsible for your care.

Feel free to contact the student's supervisor if you have any concerns or questions about working with the student or about the planning or direction of your case.

The Centre also conducts research on how best to meet the mental health needs of children and families. Participation in a research project is voluntary, and you will always be given specific information about a study's goals and procedures, and asked for your consent to participate. You may decline or withdraw from participating at any time without affecting the services you receive at the Centre.

Your information will remain confidential. Study results are reported in the form or group data without any individual identifying information.

The Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) is a rating scale that is completed by the social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist who works most closely with your child and family. CAFAS is being used in children's mental health centres across Ontario for youth ages 6 through 17 years of age. This scale helps staff to understand how your child is functioning at home, in school, in the community, and with friends and peers. It also provides information about your child's mood and if there are problems with substance use or thinking clearly. CAFAS also provides information about your family's needs.

CAFAS results are used to help plan services for your child and family. CAFS information collected from children's mental health centres across Ontario will be combined and used by the government to learn about the needs of children and families and to assist in improving mental health services for children. Please note, however, that the information that is collected provincially will not identify you or your child. Your responses will remain confidential within the Centre for use by your mental health professional in developing a plan for you.

No fees are charged to children and families.

Children's mental health services are funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

Mental health professionals are able to offer assistance in a variety of languages in addition to English. Translators may also be used.

Chair: Cathy Martin

The George Hull Centre has an active Parents' Association with a mandate to:

• Advise and assist the Centre in the development of new services
• Participate on Centre committees and the Board of Directors
• Advocate for mental health services for children and youth