While it is nice to think of childhood and the teen years as positive and happy times for kids, this isn’t always true. Children can struggle with emotional and psychological issues that impact their behavior and their ability to have positive relationships, but through child and adolescent psychiatry help is available.
Often parents or the school may notice changes in a child’s behavior or a change in their emotional responses that are creating challenges. When this happens, child and adolescent psychiatry provides services that can include talk type of therapy, support with medications, as well as support for the family.
Signs of Distress
Young children and teenagers may have difficulty in talking to their parents or family members about their emotional and behavioral struggles. Often older children and teens may hide their struggles from their parents, but through child and adolescent psychiatry assessment underlying issues such as depression, anxiety or trauma can be detected and treated.
Some signs parents may notice that can indicate the need for a child and adolescent psychiatry evaluation for a child include:
- Increasingly isolation, despondency and lack of enjoyment in life
- Changes in sleep patterns including sleeping significantly more or having trouble getting to sleep
- Irritability, anxiety or extreme types of fears
- Sudden outbursts that are atypical for the child or teen
- The use of harmful behaviors including self-harm or the use of alcohol and drugs
- Lack of friendships
- Challenges in school including trouble with following directions or responding appropriately to authority figures
- Increased risk taking
- Inappropriate or sexualized behaviors
- Suicidal ideations or attempts
- Extreme focus on body image, weight, or appearance
Parents may also know of stressful events the child or teen is going through that may be challenging. When these stress issues are present combined with changes in behavior and emotional responses, child and adolescent psychiatry can help to address the issues and provide the help and support the child needs.
Professional Support
Seeking help for your child through child and adolescent psychiatry will be instrumental in determining if there are underlying mental or physical health issues that are triggering the behaviors.
The tests and assessments provided through child and adolescent psychiatry will determine the cause or causes of the changes, and then provide the treatment options to assist your child in the challenges they are experiencing in life.
