Integrating Principles of Neurodevelopment into Clinical Practice - Essay Example

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Thematic Area Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Introduction This present essay is a critical review of the contemporary themes in youth work practice, thematic area mental health and emotional wellbeing. The essay critically reviews a presentation on integrating principles of neurodevelopment into clinical practice, in relation to youth work practice and mental health of young people. The review will be based on neural developmental perspective and psychosocial prevention of youth and trauma, linking to youth work practice. As part of the review, the essay will describe the presentation, spell out the key message within the presentation, evaluate the facts presented, review values that have been drawn from the presentation, and then draw a conclusion of the entire review. Description This essay will record about a lecturer’s presentation that was prepared by Perry (2010). The presentation is part of the publications by the ChildTrauma Academy and the material is described as a presentation because of the slides used in presenting the information. The presentation offers an introduction to the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT), and in this regard, it discusses five core principles of the model. The principles discussed include brain organisation and function. The second principle is neurodevelopment and memory. The third principle is relational neurobiology and attachment. The fourth principle is stress, distress, and trauma, while the last principle is neglect. Apart from the core principles of the model, the presentation also talked about the sequential development, the application, and outcomes of the NMT, and the current NMT metric report. Understanding One of the key messages within the presentation is that the brain is an integral part of the human body and it accord humans the ability to experience humanity. This assertion is supported by the fact that the brain organ allows the human body to perform basic tasks like walking and talking, and even experiencing feelings like sadness or happiness (Brendtro, et al. 2009). On the issues of neurodevelopment and memory, Perry (2010) stated that the human brain develops overtime from conception and the rate of development after the age of three and four years becomes steady onwards whilst other body parts experience continued growth. Dobson and Perry (2010) supported this assertion by stating that human beings especially young people enhance their social and personal development through programmes under youth work, which is voluntary and complements formal education or training that also contributes to the development of young people. Therefore, youth work is part of the programmes that contribute to the steady development of the human brain. Thirdly, Perry (2010) stated that the timing, quantity, and nature of early relationships in peoples’ lives influence the ability to bond with others, social connection, communication skill, and empathy. This assertion is supported by the argument given by Perry and Dobson (2009) who stated that the mental health of individuals is shaped-up by their early childhood social surrounding, which mainly determine their mental state in adulthood life. Fourthly, Perry (2010) stated that the mental state of human beings is influence by the sense of time, cognition, and both primary and secondary brain areas that are in-charge of various mental states. Perry (2010) supports this argument by stating that human beings experience different mental state in situations like assault, fire, or parent visit and in these three different states the sense of time, cognition, and responsive brain area are different. Fifthly, Perry (2010) highlighted on the fact that neglect during early childhood is partly responsible for mental illness that is experienced amongst young people. This is because neglect contributes to abnormal development of some crucial brain functions such as interpretation, process, perception, and sense of information. Critical thinking From the presentation, it is indeed correct to assert that the brain is a vital body organ since the interconnected network of nerve cells within the brain enables the normal functioning of human body, and therefore, abnormality is explained by abnormal development of the brain organ that results into mental illness. On another perspective, youth work as well as formal education programmes and trainings help in shaping up the brain organ to perform in a normal and enhanced manner. The presentation also noted that after conception and during the early years of a child’s life, the brain increasingly develops but after four years, the growth becomes steady. This trend or observation is supported by the arguments by Jenkinson (2000), who stated that it is easier for an individual to learn a second language while he or she is still young that when the learner is already an adult. The extent to which children are able to relate with each other determines how they will relate with other people during their adult life, and youth work practices try to influence this positively by ensuring young people who undergo the programme are able to accept and understand others, and they are able to participate in various activities. Lastly, neglect during childhood infers that the neglected child has not developed some normal functions of the body, which can result to the child exhibiting some abnormal social behaviour during his or her adulthood life, more so pertaining to care, since a neglected child never has experience of what is care. Values The presentation that has been reviewed has affirmed that community youth work is essential where there is need for a society that adheres to correct moral standards and behaviours. This is because youth work helps to shape up the development of the brain amongst young people by instilling in them positive attributes such as participating in various activities, and accepting, and understanding others. This presentation has also affirmed that early relationships in life determine a lot on how a child will relate to others when he or she grows up. Therefore, if a child experienced bad relationships with others while growing up the child may fail to relate well with others when he or she is an adult. Conclusion This essay has highlighted on the significance of neurodevelopment, which determines the normal function of the human body as well as the mental health state, and the key question that arises upon conclusion of the review is what other factors can contribute to the normal and perfect growth of the brain organ after conception. In this regards, Fuhrman and Barnard (1995) stated that diet also influence neurodevelopment and therefore, pregnant women should consider eating foods that are healthly and promote proper brain development. References Fuhrman, J. and Barnard, N. (1995). Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctors Program for Conquering Disease. St. Martins Griffin Brendtro, K.L. et al. (2009). Deep Brain Learning, Pathways to Potential with challenging youth. Starr Commonwealth Dobson, C. and Perry, D. (2010). The role of healthy relational interactions in buffering the impact of childhood trauma in Working with Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma: The Power of Play. New York, NY. The Guilford Press Jenkinson, H. (2000). "Youth work in Ireland the struggle for identity," Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, 2(2). Perry, B. (2010). Introduction to Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. The ChildTrauma Academy. Perry, D. and Dobson, D. (2009). Surviving childhood trauma: the role of relationships in prevention of, and recovery from, trauma-related problems. Counselling Children and Young People: Journal of CCYP, a division of British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy. Pp. 28-31 Read More