Pediatric Mental Health Disorder Defined
What is a "pediatric mental health disorder"?
A "pediatric mental health disorder" is a disorder designed by criterion of the American psychiatric association and the American child psychiatric association. Thus a pediatric mental health disorder is any kind of anxiety, schizophrenia , psychotic disorder, mood disorder or behavioural disorder that meets this criterion, that interferes with the child's life and function both at school and home.
How common are pediatric mental health disorders?
Pediatric mental health disorders are common, but not diagnosably common. There are kids who will have symptoms that they will grow out of, so they don't necessarily meet the criteria of a disorder, but they will look like they have one as they're growing. So out of 100 children, probably about 20 or 30 will have something that's diagnosable as a pediatric mental health disorder.
What are the common warning signs of a pediatric mental health disorder?
Common warning signs for a child to have a pediatric mental health disorder will have you see to begin with some some decompensation in the child's life, either at school or at home, or in their sleep, in their eating or their socialization. And when those kinds of things start to come and you start to notice a difference and a pattern being formed, then reaching for some help would be the next best step.
Who do I contact if I suspect my child has a pediatric mental health disorder?
Who you would contact if you suspected that your child had a mental health disorder would be your primary care doctor, or your pediatrician, or someone in your community that you trusted to be able to give you the resource and the connection to move forward to explore further.
What is the difference between a "psychiatrist" and a "psychologist"?
The difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist is education and degree. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialized in psychiatry: adult, child, adolescent, forensics, geriatrics. A psychologist is someone who goes to college and gets a masters, and oftentimes a doctorate in understanding psychological makeups of individuals and learning to test for those.
