ARTICLE TAG

psychology

6/12/2014

Counties, Both Wealthy and Poor, Struggle to Supply Children’s Mental Health Providers

by Mona Noroozi I was fortunate enough to graduate from University High School, the top public high school in the state o­f California, ranked eighth best nationally. Over the next few years, the abrupt passing of several admirable and successful former classmates indicated that even an upbringing of opportunity could not protect the families of my community from tragedies such as suicide, drug overdose, and preventable deaths.

5/29/2014

Dr. Phil: “Foster Care is a Social Circumstance, Not a Mental Illness”

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources heard testimony yesterday on the disproportionate use of psychotropic medications on foster youths, and the president’s $750 million proposal to address the issue.

5/6/2014

U.S. is 20,000 Short on Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists

by Dr. Paramjit Joshi According to the latest numbers at least 1 in 5 American youth live with a serious mental disorder—a dramatic increase from ten years ago. Of that number, only about 20 percent receive evaluation and treatment by a medical professional, with only a fraction ever having the opportunity to meet with a specialist.

9/16/2013

Before You Talk Medication, Talk Stability

“He won’t sit still.” That is the complaint of a foster mother who had three-year-old Jesse delivered into her care. Not only will he not sit still, she said, but he fidgets while she is trying to read him a story and gets up from the dinner table without asking.

7/15/2013

Protecting the Mental Health of Foster Youth

Devastating life events such as chronic family dysfunction, abuse and neglect, multiple placements, poor decisions by the court or mistreatment by court-appointed caregivers take a toll on the immature mind. To cope, we may withdraw into a prickly shell to protect our minds from the confusion and our hearts from the pain.

7/3/2013

How One Good Administrative Decision Can Reclaim a Child’s Life

Second chances can sometimes right a poor administrative decision. Such was the case for this confused teenager. Two months after returning home from the state hospital, he quit attending school. After all, his immature mind reasoned, it’s legal to quit school at 16 and, besides, he just didn’t have the brains or the interest.

    6/12/2013

    How One Bad Administrative Decision Can Derail a Child’s Life

    A lifetime ago, a confused 12-year-old boy finally came unraveled. The accidental offspring of a fling between a high school junior and her older band leader boyfriend, he had spent far too long overhearing his parents’ shouting matches.

    6/3/2013

    The Psychological Consequences of Separating Siblings in Foster Care

    The psychological stigma associated with being labeled an “orphan,” “foster child,” “ward of the court” or “at-risk youth” can play havoc with one’s self-esteem. The terms used to describe our lowly social status say that we are less than other kids: less fortunate, less worthy, less good, less capable, less important, less lovable … less almost everything.

    2/19/2013

    Predicting the accuracy of facial affect recognition: The interaction of child maltreatment and intellectual functioning

    The study looked at 106 female adolescents, ages 14-19, 50 of whom were maltreated. All of the girls completed a series of demographic and trauma interviews, self-report questionnaires, an intellectual assessment, and a facial recognition task.