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Category Archives: Mental Health
Who’s qualified to prescribe medication for my child?
If you’re open to considering psychotropic medication for your child or teen, you want an experienced clinician who will take the time to fully understand the nature of your child’s difficulties prior to whipping out the prescription pad. You want a clinician who appreciates the benefits and limitations of medication and is capable of recognizing situations when medication makes problems worse. You want a clinician with the time and availability to answer difficult questions when they arise. Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Families, Key Ministry, Mental Health
Tagged American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, children, Developmental Pediatrics, medication, mental health, Pediatric Neurology, pediatrics, physician extenders, primary care, psychiatry, teens
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What type of evaluation should a child receive before starting medication?
Parents need to feel confident that their child’s physician has truly taken the time to understand the causes of their child’s situation and considered a full range of medical and non-medical alternatives prior to moving forward with a treatment plan that includes prescription medication. Continue reading
Posted in Controversies, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Mental Health, Strategies
Tagged AACAP, child psychiatry, children, evaluation, medication
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How would I know if my child would benefit from medication?
Given all the controversy generated by the topic of psychiatric medication for kids and teens, I’m frequently asked for guidance and direction from parents and caregivers as to when medication is necessary and appropriate. Here are some clarifying questions I share with parents to help them in their decision making process…
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Posted in ADHD, Controversies, Hidden Disabilities, Mental Health
Tagged children, medication, mental health, Parents, teens
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Why does it seem so many kids are on medication?
Should we be surprised so many kids are prescribed medication given what we know about the design of our mental health care delivery systems, our expectations for academic performance, the breakdown of so many families and the values of our culture? I think not. Continue reading
Posted in ADHD, Depression, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health
Tagged academics, ADHD, broken families, kids, medication, mental health delivery system, Parents, productivity, questions, trauma
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The DSM-5: Will kids with mental illness be abandoned in an evidence-based world?
The tragic flaw in the DSM-5 is that the new diagnostic criteria have been declared “dead on arrival” by the leaders of the organization positioned to fund the research necessary to direct clinical care. Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health
Tagged adolescents, children, dsm-5, mental illness, research
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DSM-5…Parents can have separation anxiety too!
Separation Anxiety Disorder is the most common anxiety disorder among kids ages 12 years and under. Separation Anxiety (along with Selective Mutism) was removed from the category of Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence and included among anxiety disorders. The similarities between separation anxiety and selective mutism and other anxiety disorders led to the decision to include them in this category. Other data leading to the inclusion of separation anxiety was the observation that 0.9-1.9% of adults meet criteria for the condition during any twelve month period.
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Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder a description or a diagnosis?
My problem with the diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is that establishing the diagnosis doesn’t tell you anything about what to do to treat it. Consider it a “lite” version of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder without the severe, protracted tantrums or meltdowns.
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Does the DSM-5 harm bright kids with learning disabilities?
Given the outsized role these conditions play in children’s mental health, the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for specific learning disorder represent a major fail for the field. Continue reading
DSM-5: Recognizing the signs of trauma in kids
Most importantly for the sake of our discussion, the symptom thresholds for establishing a diagnosis in children and teens have been changed to take into account differences in the ways that trauma is manifested in kids, and a unique set of diagnostic criteria have been established for identification of PTSD in kids ages six and under.
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Posted in Controversies, Mental Health, Resources
Tagged AACAP, Adoption, children, children's ministry, diagnostic criteria, dsm-5, Foster Care, Inclusion, Key Ministry, mental health, PTSD
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A category unto itself…
Some of the conditions included in this new category (in addition to OCD) include…Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding Disorder, Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder) and Excoriation (skin-picking) Disorder. Continue reading
Posted in Controversies, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Mental Health
Tagged Body Dysmorphic Disorder, dsm-5, Hoarding, OCD, Skin-Picking Disorder, Trichotillomania
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