Majority of Youth Prescribed Antipsychotics Have No Psychiatric Diagnosis
The majority of children, adolescents and young adults prescribed antipsychotic medications have not been diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to a recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
One Familyâs Encounter with Modern Psychiatry and a Call for Social Change
Asking the psychiatrist to discontinue medication was one of our bravest moments. It went against everything doctors had told us over the past twelve monthsâagainst Rebeckaâs regular psychiatristâs vehement opposition (âYou can come back when it doesnât work.â). It went against what we heard repeatedly in the media and in pop culture. It went against what we saw in the advertisements during the evening news. And it was the turning point in Rebeckaâs journey toward optimal mental health.
Childhood Bipolar Disorder, Deconstructed
Diagnosing children with juvenile or pediatric bipolar disorder is largely an American phenomenon. Do we actually have more âbipolarâ children in the United Statesâor are we simply labeling more of them as such? If it is ever fair to call a child âmanic,â isnât the childâs environment the direction in which we should look?
Reflections on a Pathologized Adolescence and a Vision for the Future
My heart envisions a future of grassroots community-based, free, accessible, welcoming, non-judgmental and safe spaces for young people in the middle of the hurricane of adolescence....They will be spaces facilitated by those of us whoâve reclaimed what it means to be human.
You, Your Kids, or the Doctor⌠Whoâs Running the Show?
Letâs face it, as our kids slowly developing brains wrestle with behavioral and maturity issues while also trying to juggle expectations related to academic and social challenges, some of the behaviors they display can be quite concerning. Understandably, after trying what seems like everything in the books plus the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room sinks, caring and often exhausted parents are actively looking for help, resources and answers. But guess what? Without any need for pharmaceutical intervention or âdrug therapy,â for centuries parents have been quite capable of helping challenged children overcome semi-annoying and concerning behaviors that some âexpertsâ want to label today as symptoms of a mental disorder. Behaviors that a billion kids worldwide display every day.
âVirtual Autismâ May Explain Explosive Rise in ASD Diagnoses
New clinical case studies have found that many young children who spend too much screen timeâon TVâs, video games, tablets and computersâhave symptoms labeled as âautism.â When parents take away the screens for a few months the childâs symptoms disappear.
Madness and the Family, Part III: Practical Methods for Transforming Troubled Family Systems
We are profoundly social beings living not as isolated individuals but as integral members of interdependent social systemsâour nuclear family system, and the broader social systems of extended family, peers, our community and the broader society. Therefore, psychosis and other forms of human distress often deemed âmental illnessâ are best seen not so much as something intrinsically âwrongâ or âdiseasedâ within the particular individual who is most exhibiting that distress, but rather as systemic problems that are merely being channeled through this individual.
Helping Children With Angry Outbursts
Finnish psychiatrist Ben Furman reviews various non-drug therapies for children with aggressive outbursts of anger, including the Kids' Skills approach that he and social psychologist Tapani Ahola developed. These approaches focus on helping children come up with their own ideas for overcoming their problems with the help of family and friends.
Amphetamines Have Long-Term Effects on Adolescent Brain, Study Finds
A new study published in the journal Neuroscience finds that rats given regular doses of amphetamines during adolescence have brain and behavioral changes in adulthood....
How âMental Health Awarenessâ Exploits Schoolchildren
Imagine being a parent at a meeting with educators to discuss Johnny's academics or behavior. Suddenly, your childâs teacher is telling you that he needs to see a doctor for an assessment of a suspected âmental disorder,â which usually leads to a prescription for medication. Warned of âthe risks against failing to intervene,â you will likely acquiesce.
Why Parents Give Amphetamines and Other Risky Psychiatric Drugs to the Children They Love
The stakes are very high when loving parents anxiously sit down across from a child psychiatrist who has completed an ADHD evaluation of their child. All of the parents' high hopes for their precious child's well-being and future happiness are pressing on the parent's heart and mind. The psychiatrist leans to the side, reaches into a drawer, and lifts out a life-size model of a human brain for the parent or parents to see. The little five-year-old sitting on the floor playing stops and looks up at a model of his or her brain as the psychiatrist breaks the bad news. And the question is formed right then in the little boy or little girl's soul that may haunt the child for the rest of their lives â "Why is there something wrong with my brain?"