The National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) in collaboration with Hand in Hand Ministries is training psychiatric nurse practitioners to counsel children and adolescents. The sessions are facilitated by psychologist Dr. Jim Kanther and registered nurse Judith Boivin. They explained what the psychiatric nurse practitioners will be learning over the next three days.
Dr. Jim Kanther,
"They requested that we specifically target the nurses working with children and adolescents and including areas like HIV/Aids, child sexual abuse, and adolescent behavioral problems. Those were some of the areas that they requested that we do some training in."
Judith Boivin, Psychiatric Nurse
"Psychiatric nurses are being given a crash course in early childhood development and adolescents also because it seems to be that that's been an area that has been overlooked. The growth and development of children is where the country starts from and so by having a strong background in early childhood development, in growth and development of a child, you build a strong adult and a stronger community ultimately. Children absorb everything so if a child at a early age receives a lot of trauma, whether its psychical, sexual, or emotional abuse, and there's no treatment for it, probably 99% are going to be in prison as young adults or as adults or they may develop a chronic mental illness. When intervention is not done when children are deeply wounded, their natural tendency is to defend themselves against life."
The workshop concludes on Friday.
