Once considered an adult illness, bipolar disorder is one of the fastest growing categories in child psychiatry, touching the lives of an estimated one million children. But often it goes misdiagnosed, and kids can be prescribed medication that only worsens the condition. With her twenty-five years' experience, child psychiatrist Rosalie Greenberg offers parents and professionals alike an innovative approach to help bipolar youngsters locate that elusive inner calm. Gathering stories from families on the front lines, she shows parents how best to navigate the peaks and valleys of the disorder, addresses family relationships, and guides parents in making meaningful choices about their child's education and treatment options. A masterful book that recognizes the brilliance and creativity in bipolar kids, it will give hope that every child can, with the proper interventions, lead a full, productive life.
An eminent child psychiatrist provides an insider's, whistle-blowing perspective on the promotion of a diagnostic entity that does not exist. Your Child Does Not Have Bipolar Disorder: How Bad Science and Good Public Relations Created the Diagnosis examines this diagnostic fad through a variety of lenses. Author Stuart L. Kaplan, MD, draws heavily on his forty years of experience as a clinician, researcher, and professor of child psychiatry to make the argument that bipolar disorder in children and adolescents is incorrectly diagnosed and incorrectly treated. As Dr. Kaplan explains, the dramatic rise in this particular diagnosis is not based on scientific evidence, nor does it reflect any new discovery or insight about the etiology or treatment of the disorder. In fact, the opposite is the case: the scientific evidence against the existence of child bipolar disorder is so strong that it is difficult to imagine how it has gained the endorsement of anyone in the scientific community. Your Child Does Not Have Bipolar Disorder: How Bad Science and Good Public Relations Created the Diagnosis explains to parents and professionals the faulty reasoning and bad science behind the misdiagnosis of childhood bipolar disorder. Dr. Kaplan critiques the National Institute of Mental Health, academic child psychiatry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the media for their respective roles in advocating this diagnosis. He describes very clearly what the children and adolescents actually do have, explains how it should be treated, and provides real-life clinical scenarios and approaches to treatment that work.
With proper diagnosis and early intervention, there is unlimited hope for children and teens diagnosed with bipolar disorder to lead fulfilling and enjoyable lives, starting today. Inside, you’ll discover compassionate and informative methods to help manage the diagnosis and develop the natural strengths, gifts, and skills that every child has to offer. Written by a top expert in the field, this life-changing book is presented in clear, straightforward language that dispels the myths about bipolar disorder and offers real solutions. You’ll uncover keen insight and the latest options for helping your bipolar child or teen by understanding: * The causes of bipolar disorder * The path and outcome of bipolar disorder in children and teens * The latest biological treatments and psychosocial therapies, and how to use them * How to handle behavioral and academic problems, as well as assess and manage suicidal tendencies * And much more
Fictional story about Brandon, a young boy living with bipolar disorder. Readers learn about his symptoms, fears, and treatment from a child's viewpoint.
THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON: SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER, GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER, OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER, AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.
Every day can be an ordeal for families struggling with the difficult, moody, "impossible" behavior that may point to childhood depression or bipolar disorder. Effective help for kids does exist, but it often requires a customized combination of medication, therapy, coping skills, and support. From esteemed clinician and researcher Dr. Mary Fristad and fellow treatment expert Dr. Jill Goldberg Arnold, this indispensable book explains how treatment works and what additional steps parents can take at home to help children with mood disorders--and the family as a whole--improve the quality of their lives. Explained are why symptoms look so different (and can be so much harder to manage) in children and teens than in adults, how to find the right doctor or therapist, and how to help kids develop their own "coping toolkits." Bursting with practical tools, FAQs, and examples, the book covers everything from dealing with medical crises to resolving school problems, sibling conflicts, and marital stress.
A veteran clinical psychologist exposes why doctors, teachers, and parents incorrectly diagnose healthy American children with serious psychiatric conditions. In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, once considered, has increased by 78 percent since 2002. Dr. Enrico Gnaulati, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood and adolescent therapy and assessment, has witnessed firsthand the push to diagnose these disorders in youngsters. Drawing both on his own clinical experience and on cutting-edge research, with Back to Normal he has written the definitive account of why our kids are being dramatically overdiagnosed—and how parents and professionals can distinguish between true psychiatric disorders and normal childhood reactions to stressful life situations. Gnaulati begins with the complex web of factors that have led to our current crisis. These include questionable education and training practices that cloud mental health professionals’ ability to distinguish normal from abnormal behavior in children, monetary incentives favoring prescriptions, check-list diagnosing, and high-stakes testing in schools. We’ve also developed an increasingly casual attitude about labeling kids and putting them on psychiatric drugs. So how do we differentiate between a child with, say, Asperger’s syndrome and a child who is simply introverted, brainy, and single-minded? As Gnaulati notes, many of the symptoms associated with these disorders are similar to everyday childhood behaviors. In the second half of the book Gnaulati tells detailed stories of wrongly diagnosed kids, providing parents and others with information about the developmental, temperamental, and environmentally driven symptoms that to a casual or untrained eye can mimic a psychiatric disorder. These stories also reveal how nonmedical interventions, whether in the therapist’s office or through changes made at home, can help children. Back to Normal reminds us of the normalcy of children’s seemingly abnormal behavior. It will give parents of struggling children hope, perspective, and direction. And it will make everyone who deals with children question the changes in our society that have contributed to the astonishing increase in childhood psychiatric diagnoses.
Bipolar disorders were once considered rare in children and adolescents. A growing body of scientific evidence now suggests that they may be more prevalent in this group than previously believed. At the same time, the practitioner faces significant clinical challenges in both the assessment processes and also the implementation of a treatment plan. A paucity of treatment manuals and pharmacological algorithms providing practical guidance makes the task of the clinician even more difficult, despite the fact that more is known about the assessment, neurobiology and treatment of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder than ever before. Written by three distinguished experts, this book conveys to clinicians all the information currently available in this area. They review both the neuroscience and also the integration of rational, practical, pharmacological and psychosocial interventions. Based on what is known, a sound approach to the assessment of these youngsters can be developed. Similarly, available evidence allows practitioners to ground their treatment protocols solidly on scientific knowledge. Concise and authoritative, Pediatric Bipolar Disorders will give the reader a practical approach to both the art and science of providing the best possible clinical care to children and adolescents with the disorder. This book is written primarily for clinical psychiatrists, but will also be of interest to non-specialist doctors and other members of the health care team.
A true story, Losing Control chronicles an African-American mother's struggle with her daughter's mental illness, which after more than a decade of help-seeking, heartache and confusion, is finally determined to be bipolar disorder. Her difficulties in managing symptoms of her child's illness, the lack of social and emotional support, and the grief this mother faces as the diagnosis is finally determined are vividly and courageously discussed. A medical perspective on bipolar disorder, including definitions, symptoms and treatment in a cultural context is provided. Resources to help families deal with the stigma attached to mental illness, and resources that can be helpful in managing its course are also provided.
