|
Page 5 of 7
Group-home placement
Group home placement is somewhat more restrictive than foster care, since the living situation is not as "natural." Group homes provide family-style treatment in a more structured setting than the natural environment. Treatment usually involves a combination of evaluation, psychotherapy, use of behavior modification, peer interaction, and increasing self-government.
Residential treatment centers
Residential treatment centers provide roundthe-clock treatment and care for children with emotional disturbances who need continuous medication, supervision, or relief from stresses in the environment, or whose families require relief from the stress of caring for them. Residential treatment centers for severely emotionally disturbed children are available throughout the United States.
Many of these facilities focus on a particular treatment philosophy. Generally, residential centers base their treatment on the premise that the child's total environment must be structured in a therapeutic way. Some emphasize special diet and exercise programs; others concentrate on behavior modification programs which function both in the classrooms and in the dormitories as well. Still others use a patient-centered, "structuredpermissiveness" approach. Some treatment centers are set up to deal specifically with alcohol and drug related problems.
While residential treatment centers have academic programs, a great deal of attention is focused on the child's emotional problems, regardless of whether these problems are associated with academic matters. Considerable time and effort are spent on group and individual therapy and therapeutic social activities.
Residential care/hospital or training school Residential care in a hospital or training school tends to be the most restrictive type of treatment, attempted after other, less intensive, forms of treatment have been tried and have failed, or when a child has violated the law and has been ordered by the court to a particular facility.
- A psychiatric hospital is a medical facility whose emphasis is on medical solutions to mental problems. Psychiatric hospitals tend to use medications, and sometimes other physiological interventions. Those hospitals which serve children must provide educational opportunities for them, but the main focus of these facilities is not academics.
- Training schools are generally a type of correctional facility that is intended to serve delinquent youth. Depending on the level of financial support and degree of commitment from state government, some training schools offer psychotherapy, behavior modification programs, and/or vocational training. In general, training schools are not desirable treatment facilities because they are usually under-funded and often operate as prison-like programs. All training schools are required by federal law to provide appropriate special education for children who qualify.
- Respite Services give families (natural, adoptive or extended) temporary relief from caring for a child or teen who is receiving mental health services through a family guidance center or a private mental health provider. Contact your local Family Guidance Center for more information.
What Medications Can Help Children And Adolescents’ Mental Health Problems?
Medication can be an effective part of the treatment for several psychiatric disorders of childhood and adolescence. A doctor's recommendation to use medication often raises many concerns and questions in both the parents and the youngster. The physician who recommends medication should be experienced in treating psychiatric illnesses in children and adolescents. He or she should fully explain the reasons for medication use, what benefits the medication should provide, as well as side effects or dangers and other treatment alternatives.
Psychiatric medication should not be used alone. As undertaking a medication trial may mean adjusting doses of medicine over time and/or the use of additional medications to meet an individual youngster's needs, the use of medication should be part of a comprehensive treatment plan, usually including psychotherapy as well as parent guidance sessions.
Before recommending any medication, the child and adolescent psychiatrist will interview the youngster and make a thorough diagnostic evaluation. In some cases, the evaluation may include a physical exam, psychological testing, laboratory tests, other medical tests such as an electrocardiogram (EKG) or electroencephalogram (EEG), and consultation with other medical specialists.
Child and adolescent psychiatrists stress that medications which have beneficial effects also have unwanted side effects, ranging from annoying to very serious. As each youngster is different and may have individual reactions to medication, close contact with the treating physician is recommended. Psychiatric medication should be used as part of a comprehensive plan of treatment, with ongoing medical assessment and, in most cases, individual and/or family psychotherapy.
When prescribed appropriately by a psychiatrist (preferably a child and adolescent psychiatrist), and taken as prescribed, medication may reduce or eliminate troubling symptoms and improve the daily functioning of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders.
Do not stop or change a medication without speaking to the doctor.
|
