After "losing" our last psychiatrist, read about a doctor's greed , we finally found a new psychiatrist to treat and re-evaluate my teenage daughter.
Child psychiatrists are not easy to come by in my area of the country. I don't know much about how others fare but I literally made many phone calls before I secured an appointment with the one we saw today. Finding someone who wasn't too far away, who took the insurance and who was accepting new patients is not an easy feat but after months of trying- SUCCESS!!!
So what actually happens during a mental health evaluation? Here is how it went. (this isn't the first one I have experienced and from what I know - this is "normal")
Since my daughter has been treated before, I came prepared. I had copies of her latest school report card, the IEP (individualized education program) and psychological evaluation and test results from the school's child study team, a typed record of her treatment history including all medications she has taken, who she has seen and a copy from the latest doctor of his diagnosis.
I wanted this doctor to have all the information she could possibly have in order to ensure that my daughter gets a correct diagnosis. I realize that one evaluation does not give parents a diagnosis; the doctor needs more time.
The three of us (mom,dad and teen) sat with the doctor while she asked questions about what brought us there. My daughter answered most questions; I was there to give family history.
In the past I often felt a bit under a microscope but I now know enough about mental illness that I no longer need to "place blame". We aren't perfect parents- show me someone who is. Genetics count but there are several other factors for why mental illnesses happen. We came to help her and placing blame doesn't help.
After going through the family history we left the doctor alone with my daughter so they could talk one on one. after about 25 minutes, she called us back in and we discussed a treatment plan. My daughter is scheduled to have some blood work done, routine when you take antidepressants in order to check liver function. The doctor is also concerned that her poor eating habits (she is EXTREMELY picky) could be to blame for her depression, something I have been trying to fix on my own by giving her B complex and Magnesium.
We need to return in 6 weeks and in that time, I hope to have seen a difference in how she feels. We were all satisfied with the new doctor and my secret wish is that it is all due to a vitamin deficiency. That is easily fixed.
With maturity I believe that her anxiety issues will lesson, especially as she becomes more open to learning hope to cope better with them. When she was only in grade school, she became so severely panicked that she was unable and unwilling to leave the house.
As she has matured, she has had to learn how to cope not just with hormonal changes, but with bullying, peer pressure and pressure to feel like she fits in. Some teenagers seem to take all these facts of middle school and high school in stride. Some hide it inside. Some verbalize it and some do not.
As a parent who is blessed to have an open dialog with my child, she has come to me with her fears, anxieties and feelings of sadness. She is feeling much better than she was in the past. Therapy has helped, medication has helped to ease some symptoms and maturity is helping also.
Children, adolescents and teens can be affected by stress in life. We need to remember that as adults, many of us have developed our own coping skills. With a child, these skills are not developed. We need to acknowledge that fears can be very real to a child. The monster under the bed seems real and if a parent ignores their child's fear, the child will lose trust in them. They won't go to the parent to talk about it and they will keep it inside.
There are normal fears of childhood that many experience. When these fears build and interfere with your child's functioning a parent needs to take action. I am not saying that your child must be medicated- medication isn't always the answer. You cannot just tell your child that there is no monster under the bed. You need to find out why they think that there is and then address it!
Just because a child may experience anxiety or depression doesn't mean that they will grow up to still have these same disorders. The sooner you address them, the sooner your child will be back to feeling like their normal self.
Child psychiatrists are not easy to come by in my area of the country. I don't know much about how others fare but I literally made many phone calls before I secured an appointment with the one we saw today. Finding someone who wasn't too far away, who took the insurance and who was accepting new patients is not an easy feat but after months of trying- SUCCESS!!!
So what actually happens during a mental health evaluation? Here is how it went. (this isn't the first one I have experienced and from what I know - this is "normal")
Since my daughter has been treated before, I came prepared. I had copies of her latest school report card, the IEP (individualized education program) and psychological evaluation and test results from the school's child study team, a typed record of her treatment history including all medications she has taken, who she has seen and a copy from the latest doctor of his diagnosis.
I wanted this doctor to have all the information she could possibly have in order to ensure that my daughter gets a correct diagnosis. I realize that one evaluation does not give parents a diagnosis; the doctor needs more time.
The three of us (mom,dad and teen) sat with the doctor while she asked questions about what brought us there. My daughter answered most questions; I was there to give family history.
In the past I often felt a bit under a microscope but I now know enough about mental illness that I no longer need to "place blame". We aren't perfect parents- show me someone who is. Genetics count but there are several other factors for why mental illnesses happen. We came to help her and placing blame doesn't help.
After going through the family history we left the doctor alone with my daughter so they could talk one on one. after about 25 minutes, she called us back in and we discussed a treatment plan. My daughter is scheduled to have some blood work done, routine when you take antidepressants in order to check liver function. The doctor is also concerned that her poor eating habits (she is EXTREMELY picky) could be to blame for her depression, something I have been trying to fix on my own by giving her B complex and Magnesium.
We need to return in 6 weeks and in that time, I hope to have seen a difference in how she feels. We were all satisfied with the new doctor and my secret wish is that it is all due to a vitamin deficiency. That is easily fixed.
With maturity I believe that her anxiety issues will lesson, especially as she becomes more open to learning hope to cope better with them. When she was only in grade school, she became so severely panicked that she was unable and unwilling to leave the house.
As she has matured, she has had to learn how to cope not just with hormonal changes, but with bullying, peer pressure and pressure to feel like she fits in. Some teenagers seem to take all these facts of middle school and high school in stride. Some hide it inside. Some verbalize it and some do not.
As a parent who is blessed to have an open dialog with my child, she has come to me with her fears, anxieties and feelings of sadness. She is feeling much better than she was in the past. Therapy has helped, medication has helped to ease some symptoms and maturity is helping also.
Children, adolescents and teens can be affected by stress in life. We need to remember that as adults, many of us have developed our own coping skills. With a child, these skills are not developed. We need to acknowledge that fears can be very real to a child. The monster under the bed seems real and if a parent ignores their child's fear, the child will lose trust in them. They won't go to the parent to talk about it and they will keep it inside.
There are normal fears of childhood that many experience. When these fears build and interfere with your child's functioning a parent needs to take action. I am not saying that your child must be medicated- medication isn't always the answer. You cannot just tell your child that there is no monster under the bed. You need to find out why they think that there is and then address it!
Just because a child may experience anxiety or depression doesn't mean that they will grow up to still have these same disorders. The sooner you address them, the sooner your child will be back to feeling like their normal self.
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