The New York Times had a long article today on behavioral therapy as an adjunct to or replacement for medications for treatment of childhool mental disorders including depresion. It reflects a trend recognizing the role that external, psychosocial factors and interactions have on internal physiology over time.
Parenting as Therapy for Child's Mental Disorders
Benedict Carey
New York Times
Excerpt
But the science behind nondrug treatments is getting stronger. And now, some researchers and doctors are looking again at how inconsistent, overly permissive or uncertain child-rearing styles might worsen children’s problems, and how certain therapies might help resolve those problems, in combination with drug therapy or without drugs.
The psychotherapy techniques intended for the improvement of interactions between parents and children have been used mostly for children who suffer from attention disorders or who exhibit aggressive or defiant behavior. But recently, mental health professionals have been studying their use for families whose children suffer from depression or other mood problems.
In a comprehensive review, the American Psychological Association urged in August that for childhood mental disorders, “in most cases,” nondrug treatment “be considered first,” including techniques that focus on parents’ skills, as well as enlisting teachers’ help.
And in its just-completed guidelines, even the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, an organization whose members strongly favor drug treatment, recommends that children receive some form of talk therapy before being given drugs for moderate depression, a very common complaint.
(photo credit: Mary_Cabbie )
technorati tags:depression, children, psychiatry, psychosocial, systems, processcontrol, behavior, CBT, drugs, medication, treatment
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