Psychiatrists and Special Population Essay

These services are mainly psychotherapy and biomedical therapy. Psychotherapy is understanding your mind and illness, helping cope with feelings and symptoms, and changing behavior patterns that cause symptoms of the illness. When children don’t use the proper mental health services, they are at a greater risk for difficulties later in life such as substance abuse, suicide, or involvement with the correctional system (Turner). Therefore it is, important to not only attend psychotherapy but to also be on the proper medication when dealing any mental illness. In the American Psychiatric Association’s new DSM-5, fifteen new disorders are listed. Some mental health professionals fear that medication will now be given to those who would have earlier been seen as the “worried well” (Rubinstein, 2013). The key is to distinguish when one is mentally ill and needs assistance and when they are just going through a tough situation. Many psychologists have been through the same situation, and could help guide past that tough time in

It’s estimated that the onset of 50% of chronic mental illnesses occurs by the age of fourteen, and about 75% by the age of 24 (NAMI, 2015). The most common mental health diagnoses in the United States are mood disorders, which include the spectrums of anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Unfortunately, 60% of adults and 50% of youth did not receive medical services for their mental health conditions in the previous fiscal year (NAMI, 2015).

In an attempt to better understand depression in today’s youth, I have chosen to explore the depths of Major Depressive Disorder and how it affects the young people in our society. Depression amongst school age children and adolescents are the primary focus. The prevalence, adversities, and treatment of the depression are discussed as well. After exploring these few facets of the disorder, I will talk briefly about the Ecological Model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1998 that is used by counselors to help evaluate and assess the children who are referred by teachers or medical

Although more elderly people seek treatment for alcohol abuse, it is not the most commonly abused substance among this population. Compared to adolescents and younger adults, illegal drug use among older adults is rare, however prescription drug abuse is common. Over 1/3 of all prescription medication sold in the United States is used by elder individuals, and most of the prescribed drugs have high abuse potential (Doweiko, p. 256). Consequently, more people over the age of 65 abuse prescription drugs than any other substance. Because of age-related medical problems, undiagnosed mood disorders (such as chronic depression, often magnified by social factors such as loss of peers or a spouse), and changed body chemistry, this population is particularly vulnerable to the effects of and the abusive properties of pharmaceuticals. These factors combined with the fact that many elderly adults have multiple prescriptions that can interact with each other and compound the risk for addiction. Out of all the drugs prescribed to older adults, sedatives and benzodiazepines potentially cause the greatest concern. Benzodiazepines are prescribed to older adults more than any other age group. According to the Center for Substance Abuse

The National Comorbidity Survey Replication advocates that many mental health issues emerge during childhood and adolescence with half of all lifetime mental illnesses starting by age 14 (Kessler et al., 2005). Therefore, children and adolescents experience high rates of mental health disorders. This is especially concerning because only a small number of these children receive treatment. The underutilization of services has significant implications considering that child psychopathology may be a risk factor for future problems such as substance abuse, academic difficulties, health problems, and adult psychopathology (Turner & Liew, 2010).

Today, 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, over 5% of the entire population on Earth (Healthline). While 5% may not seem like much, it is absolutely appalling to think that any one person deserves to feel depressed. Despite being apart of the human mind ever since creation, doctors and psychologists today are still struggling to understand what causes the mind to break down to a state of utter sadness and self loathing. Even more troubling is the fact that not many people, primarily parents, are exposed to the utter damage that the disorder may cause to their children. Unlike physical disorders, injuries, or other illnesses that attack the body, depression attacks the mind. Depression can take the brightest day and turn it

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.

Unplanned pregnancy, especially for teenagers or single women can be extremely stressful especially if they come from a very conservative family, who does not accept sex before marriage. Moreover, domestic violence may be another cause of depression during pregnancy. Unfortunately, many women get sexually, physically, and emotionally abused by their partners. Another reason for depression in pregnant women may just be because of their family or even personal history of depression in the past. For those reasons, many women struggle with depression during their

Although the risk of depression during labor is high, there are controversies about the effects of pregnancy on bipolar disorders. There is a clinical myth about the protective effect of pregnancy against the mood disorders. Several recently studies suggest that women with experienced fewer mood episodes during pregnancy. In another study, rates of relapse were similar in pregnant

A meta-analysis of depression rates during pregnancy concluded that prevalence rates were 7.4% of women during the first trimester, 12.8% during the second trimester, and 12.0% during the third trimester (1). Depression during pregnancy can lead to negative consequences for both the mother and the fetus. A case control study published by the Journal of Women’s Health showed that pregnant women diagnosed with depression were significantly more likely to experience preterm labor, cesarean delivery, anemia, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia when compared to pregnant women who did not suffer from depression. The study also showed fetal growth restriction, fetal developmental abnormalities, and death were outcomes more associated with women suffering from depression while pregnant. Furthermore, fetal malformations in depressed woman had an odds ratio of 2.75 when compared to women who were not depressed while pregnant

There are hundreds of different careers in the medical field ranging from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners. Psychiatry deals specifically with the diagnosis and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional ailments. The main purpose of a psychiatrist is to help people coop with issues and stress in their environment that make it difficult to lead a normal and healthy lifestyle. These issues may arise from abuse, addiction, mental disability, disease, or physical injury. It is the psychiatrist’s job to ensure the patient can maintain a healthy attitude and continue to provide for themselves. A Psychiatrist may choose to specialize in many sub classes of mental health including children and adolescents, geriatric psychiatry, addiction,

Introduction: Pregnancy is generally accepted to be a time of happiness & emotional well-being for a woman. However for many women, pregnancy increases their vulnerability to psychiatric illnessess such as depression, anxiety disorders & psychoses and these are usually overlooked. This study was conducted to determine the effect of maternal psychiatric disorders on the course of pregnancy & on fetal health.

Many physicians tend to think of depression as an illness of adulthood. In fact, Brown (1996) stated that "it was only in the 1980 's that mood disorders in children were included in the category of diagnosed psychiatric illnesses." In actuality, 7-14% of children will experience an episode of major depression before the age of 15. An average of 20-30% of adult bipolar patients report having their first episode before the age of 20. In a sampling of 100,000 adolescents, two to three thousand will have mood disorders out of which 8-10 will commit suicide (Brown, 1996). Blackman (1995) remarked that the suicide rate for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade.

2. “Even though pregnancy is typically a happy time, its still very common for expecting moms to struggle with prescriptions and medications to deal with depression and other conditions”:

People used to believe that children had no reason to be depressed it wasn’t till a few years ago: “No one thought that children could suffer from real depression; there wasn’t even an official diagnosis for childhood depression until 1980” (Fassler 4). But really who would have thought that such a thing could be possible. Sadly today we know that it’s a real disease and it affects more adolescents than we think: “ The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 2.5 percent of all American youngsters under the age of eighteen or over 1.5 million children and adolescents are seriously depressed” (Fassler 2).