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Caring for Your Hurting Teen / Troubling Issues — Comments Off on Changing Psychiatrists or Therapists Without Hurting Feelings
20
Feb 25

Changing Psychiatrists or Therapists Without Hurting Feelings

Teenager“Therapists know that comfort level is the most crucial qualification and will not take it personally.”

It can be awkward to leave a professional with whom you have established a relationship. Many parents don’t realize how worried therapists and psychiatrists get when a patient suddenly stops showing up. Mental health specialists appreciate the courtesy of being informed if they will not be seeing your teen again simply because they want the assurance that the teen will remain in treatment. A quick phone call is greatly appreciated.

If your teen has found a new therapist, call the previous one and thank her for her past work. You can provide a detail about the new person you have hired. For example, you can say that you thought your teen would do better with a male therapist or a therapist who practices your family’s religion. You can even simply say that your child hit it off better with a different therapist. Therapists know that comfort level is the most crucial qualification and will not take it personally.

If you are changing psychiatrists, I recommend the following approach, which I received on the advice of a new psychiatrist I hired for my daughter. Call the previous psychiatrist (you can leave a  message) and explain that you sought a second opinion. It is a nice courtesy to name the new psychiatrist. Then say that your teen felt really comfortable with this new person and that you are going to stick with her for a while, but that you hope she will remain open to letting your teen return if they change their mind. When I left this message, the psychiatrist went out of her way to say how much she appreciated me letting her know and that certainly I could bring my teen back anytime.

Getting Help / Troubling Issues — Comments Off on Understanding Breakthrough Symptoms
13
Feb 25

Understanding Breakthrough Symptoms

anxiousteen.jpg“Help your teen track the frequency of a breakthrough symptom so that the psychiatrist can determine if things are worsening or remaining steady.”

You may be worried if your teen experiences breakthrough symptoms while on their medication. For example, a teen might have some depression every afternoon even though their antidepressant has worked reliably for several months. A teen with schizophrenia who has found peace on an antipsychotic may hear a voice once every two weeks. While this may worry you, chances are that a reliable medicine will continue to be serve your teen well. First, check to make sure of the following:

  • Is your teen taking the medicine at the same time every day, never missing doses?
  • If your teen takes more than one dose per day, are the dose times evenly spaced so that there are no gaps in the activation of the medicine?
  • If the medicine requires that food be taken along with it, is your teen consuming a sufficient number of calories?
  • Has there been additional stress in your teen’s life?
  • Has your teen grown and needs a dosage adjustment?

Some teens choose to live with occasional breakthrough symptoms, especially if the medicine is generally agreeable and the symptom is not too bothersome. For example, the teen who feels a stab of depression every afternoon may be able to shake it off with a short walk. This may be preferable to dealing with a higher dosage that may incite an undesirable side effect.

Help your teen track the frequency of a breakthrough symptom so that the psychiatrist can determine if things are worsening or remaining steady. See if your teen can identify a way to cope with the symptom. If your teen is worried about it, call the doctor. A teen who has been through a hard recovery may be scared and need the reassurance that they’re not relapsing.

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