Monday 27 January 2014

The Prominent Practitioner Of Pediatric Psychiatry In NYC Sees A Variety Of Disorders

By Nelda Powers


Many families require help from the medical practitioners of pediatric psychiatry in NYC. These doctors treat young children and teenagers. The same mental illnesses that affect adults can also befall children. It is harder for the parents and teachers to notice since children are always changing as a part of the natural growth they are going through.

There are, however, over five million children with a serious mental disorder. It disrupts their life and makes school difficult. Twenty percent of the children in the US are stricken in a year.

Mental illness often has physical components such as brain chemistry and genetics. Children are hard to diagnose because of the many changes that occur as part of the natural growth process. A teen, for example, may appear to have a mental disorder when he is just acting like a teen.

Some children only act out at home and others only show signs of mental disorder in school. He may find it difficult to fit in with other kids. A school counselor does not see every child and thus cannot be of help.

It takes eleven or twelve years of higher education to become a licensed psychiatrist. For a specialty such as pediatric psychiatry, additional time is needed. He goes through medical school and can thus prescribe the medicine a child needs to keep his condition controlled.

He is adept at detecting mental illness in children and giving them the optimal combination of medication and counseling. One condition that is quite noticeable is a disruptive behavior disorder. The child suffering from this is a rule-breaker and does not maintain a quiet demeanor in the classroom.

The child who has a developmental delay perceives the world as a confusing place. He has a difficult time understanding what goes on around him. In the case of an anxiety disorder, a child may appear nervous and afraid of many things.

It is common for teen girls to develop eating disorders. A passion for slenderness may turn into anorexia and bulimia. In the case of schizophrenia the thoughts are jumbled and often paranoia exists.

The child psychiatrist will see patients in his office and provide outpatient care. If he works in another setting it is likely to be a hospital or residential care center. In many of these positions he works with other mental health professionals.

The Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders is a manual that defines all acknowledged mental illnesses and lists the symptoms that they entail. It is a publication of the American Psychiatric Assoc. A child or adult must have a specific set of symptoms and have them for a specific length of time before an illness can be diagnosed.

An effective care plan may include more than one component. It may be prescription medication and psychotherapy, which is often called talk therapy. Discussing feelings may aid the child in understanding what is causing problems in his life. It may help him learn to deal with it.

Medication may be necessary such as in cases of bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder. There are anti-psychotic medicines for schizophrenia and tranquilizers for anxiety. The practitioner of pediatric psychiatry in NYC will most likely prescribe the lowest possible doses effective for the child.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment