Parents mental health

The increasing use of stimulants in the United States to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has aroused parental concern and compelled both medical professionals and the media to question the safety and efficacy of this type of treatment. Because ADHD is among the most common reasons for seeking mental health services for children, these questions are more pertinent than ever. This chapter will examine the history of stimulant use, the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, side effects, and issues related to their clinical use in children and adolescents. More detailed information on clinical applications is provided in Section III. 

Arguably more important than the views of mental health professionals about this subject are the opinions of adolescent patients who received ECT and their parents. Data are available from Australia and France (Walter et ah, 1999a, b Taieb et ah, 2000). In the Australian study (Walter et ah, 1999a), the vast majority of patients considered ECT a legitimate treatment and, if medically indicated, would have ECT again and would recommend it to others. Approximately three-quarters believed their psychiatric illness was worse than either ECT or pharmacotherapy. Their parents opinions about ECT were also favorable (Walter et ah, 1999b). The findings from France (Taieb et ah, 2000) were similar for example, all patients and parents re-... 

The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (NIMH DISC) (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1992) Highly structured interview designed to give DSM-III and III-R diagnoses Available in computerized version Parent Child 9-17... 

Kandel, Denise, and Pamela Griesler, et al. Parental Influences on Adolescent Marijuana Use and the Baby Boom Generation Findings from the 1979-1996 NHSDA. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, 2001. 

The incidence of ADHD in Asian children is also low. This difference may be because methods of disciplining children differ between Asian-American parents and Caucasian-American parents. It may also be because Asian Americans are less comfortable than their Caucasian counterparts are with the American mental health system and its willingness to prescribe drugs to treat mental conditions. 

I have documented cases of parents who were forced to medicate their children by their spouses, the state, or their public school (Breggin, in press). By far the greatest threat to children and their parents lies within the public schools. They are being turned into triage centers to select out children for medication treatment. Parental consent will be steamrollered (Jackson, 2006b). The system is euphemistically called mental health... 

Children respond so quickly to improvements in the way that adults relate to them that most children can be helped without being seen by a mental health consultant or therapist. Instead, the therapist can consult with the parents, teachers, and other concerned adults. In my clinical practice, I often see children only once or twice with the parents. After that, I work with the parents by themselves to help them to develop more consistent, rational methods of disciplining the child, along with unconditional love and attention to educational needs. If the parents are willing and able to learn new ways of approaching their children s needs, obvious positive changes in the children become apparent within a few days and weeks. 

Rowe DC, Jacobson KC, van den Ooord JCG 1999 Genetic and environmental influences on vocabulary IQ parental education level as a moderator. Child Dev 70 1151-1162 Rutter M 1994 Temperament changing concepts and implications. In Carey WB, McDevitt SC (eds) Prevention and early intervention individual differences as risk factors in the mental health of children. Brunner/Mazel, New York, p 23-34 Rutter M, Madge N 1976 Cycles of disadvantage a review of research. Heinemann Educational, London... 

Columbia University s adolescent, mental health Website. Its main feature is a screening program which teens or parents can use to evaluate depression risk. Also lists resources for treatment. 

It is in forensic psychiatry, finally, that we find the best examples of how preoccupation with the mental health of victimized individuals or groups—Negroes, persons accused of crime, old people —actually works to their detriment, serving only to confirm them in their debased roles as defective objects, and to elevate their caretakers to the exalted position of loving parents. I have discussed this subject in other publications. A brief critical examination of the views of one of the leading exponents of what I have called psychiatric justice should suffice here. 

Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2005. White House Drug Czar, research and mental health communities warn parents that marijuana use can lead to depression, suicidal thoughts and schizophrenia. http //www.whitehousedrugpolicy. gov/news/press05/050305.html (accessed September 1,2005). 

Forensic clinical psychologists may also get involved in civil cases such as personal lawsuits, or workman s compensation where mental health or personal suffering is part of the case. They are often involved in guardianship decisions, to help determine if person has a mental illness that inhibits their ability to make life decisions (i.e., activities of daily living, money management, and legal choices), custody cases where they may evaluate the children and/or the parents, and assessment of abuse or neglect and decisions about placement of these children. 

---