Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

I am a civilian psychiatrist who recently finished 20 months of work as a contractor for the US Army. Going into the job, I expected the degree of combat-related stress I saw in our troops. I was not prepared, however, for the scope of the impact our 2 long wars have had on military children.

Sexual identity development is a complex, multidimensional, and often fluid process. One must consider cognitive, social, emotional, cultural, and familial complexities among other aspects of the individual’s experience to contextualize a narrative concerning sexual identity development.

Understanding pediatric psychopharmacology in the context of medical illness.

More than 50 years ago, Charles M. Schulz, creator of “Peanuts,” coined the term “Happiness is a warm puppy.” Schulz may have been more visionary than he recognized.

Custody disputes often produce anxiety for all involved. Whether you are a treating child psychiatrist or custody evaluator, it is imperative to have a clear idea of your role.

Substance use disorders are associated with significant morbidity and mortality that affects individuals and their families. Preventing the onset of an SUD in adolescence remains a critical area of clinical and public health significance.

The diagnosis of T1DM can be devastating to both the child and family. Because of the potential for immediate life-threatening complications of poorly controlled diabetes, family members must readjust their approach to daily living.

Depression, anxiety, and delirium are 3 examples of common but frequently challenging areas of distress in pediatric palliative care patients.

The articles in this Special Report reinforce the lesson that children come with parents. This is one of first lessons that I teach my residents: you can’t work with a kid in a vacuum. Parents who do not feel some connection with a caregiver will not bring their child to treatment or follow the recommendations of the treatment team.

In a childhood obesity article, the JAMA authors suggest "involvement of state protective services . . . including placement into foster care in carefully selected situations" as an alternative to treatment at newly established pediatric surgical weight loss programs. Do you agree?

Doubt and confusion as to where ADHD fits into the general spectrum of illness further feeds the general perception that ADHD is a socially constructed disorder rather than a valid neurobiological disorder

The DSM-5 Scientific Review Group was the last hope for an eleventh hour DSM-5 save. This hope recently died.

Many adolescents have taken to the Internet to discuss their struggles with psychiatric disorders not ordinarily diagnosed in persons under 18 years old (eg, bipolar disorder).

In this final of a 3-part podcast series, Brian Smith, MD, discusses the how’s, the why’s, and the treatment options for adolescents who harm themselves.

In Part 2 of this podcast series, Dr Smith continues his discussion of the practice of nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents.

In this podcast, Dr Smith discusses the practice of nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents-cutting, burning, self-hitting or banging, scratching, interfering with wound healing-may be increasing.

Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a behavior in which a person commits an act with the purpose of physically harming himself or herself with or without a real intent of suicide.

This article highlights the biological and clinical links between the two disorders, reviewing shared genetics, brain changes, and similarities and differences in clinical presentations.

Childhood and adolescent bullying-and, recently, cyberbullying-is a major public health problem with potentially devastating consequences. In any prevention effort, students need hope and to learn the skills to end the abuse, as described here.

Expansion of age-appropriate developmental psycho-therapeutic services must become a top public health priority to make these treatments more widely available to young children and to capture the potential greater benefit of the earliest possible intervention for mental disorders.

Is ADHD in a child foreshadowed by ADHD in other family members? Have acute-phase treatments for major depression been found to be effective in children and teens? These questions and more in this quiz.

This table provides links to many valuable resources for child and adolescent psychiatry. A list of Web sites, books, organizations, and pivotal articles on ADHD and other topics.

In essence, screen media constitute neurologically potent, arousing input to the developing brain. Unlike conventional toxins, their effects are mediated by sense organs. However, they have demonstrable effects on brain activity, and on behavior and function.

Autism is demanding increased attention by professional and lay audiences; prevalence seems to be increasing. There are differing opinions about whether the increase is due to greater recognition and reporting, diagnostic expansion and substitution, or increasing acceptability.

This is both an exciting and challenging time to be a child and adolescent psychiatrist. New findings are changing our knowledge of childhood psychopathology. This Special Report discusses current developments in diagnosis, treatments, and problems for children and adolescents.

A 3-year study involving over 3,000 patients used motivational interviewing to counsel adolescents about staying away from potentially violent and alcohol-related situations. It was found that these brief sessions “reduced by half the chances that teenagers would experience peer violence or problems due to drinking.”

Avoiding Confidentiality Conflicts

The young adult years (18 to 29) are a critical time of transition, and they present unique challenges in regard to mental health issues and development. Until recently, most research has focused either on children and adolescents or adults. Grant and Potenza’s Young Adult Mental Health is a comprehensive text for clinicians and researchers who work with persons in the transitional period of young adulthood.

A pair of recent research articles has cast the public spotlight on treating schizophrenia in youths with antipsychotic medications.

The onset of psychiatric illness in a child is a life-changing event for families. Families from immigrant and ethnocultural communities often must come to an understanding of their child’s psychiatric difficulties while simultaneously interacting with an unfamiliar health care system and its practitioners.