The crisis model of preventive mental health and its potential application for support services for children coping with parental separation

This chapter considers the development of a conceptual framework modelled on Caplanian Community Mental Health principles, an approach which offers a theoretical basis for early support for children and families undergoing stressful critical life experiences. It first outlines the key elements of the crisis model of mental health, briefly explaining its development in the period following the Second World War. It then summarizes the related practice of short-term crisis intervention, which can be used by various services offering support to children as they adapt socially and psychologically to challenges posed by stressful life-changing events — in this instance, parental conflict and separation. The chapter concludes by speculating as to why such a preventive approach has not caught on in the UK despite mounting evidence of the long-term risks to young people's mental health and wellbeing resulting from the breakdown of parental relationships.