Providing Comprehensive and High-Quality Psychiatric Care and Therapy for Children and Adolescents in Florida
Receive Tailored Pediatric Mental Health Services From a Compassionate and Experienced Psychiatrist
Mental health conditions affect children and adolescents indiscriminately. They face a wide spectrum of pediatric mental health issues, with approximately 20 million children in the United States, aged 3 to 17, encountering mental, emotional, behavioral, or developmental disorders – a staggering one in five children and adolescents. These statistics were compiled before the onset of the pandemic.
Seeking professional help for your child promptly can provide answers and facilitate a quicker path to improvement. Together, we can address the underlying issues effectively. Employing a comprehensive and personalized approach, I strive to identify and resolve the root cause of the problem, ensuring a positive therapeutic outcome. By utilizing evidence-based treatments tailored to your child's unique needs, we can deliver precise and effective care.
Attentive and Effective Treatment for Various Mental Health Conditions in Children and Adolescents
As a parent, you understand your child better than anyone else. Therefore, you'll often notice when they're not acting like themselves due to a mental health issue. Whatever challenges your child is facing, I'm here to support you both. My approach to treatment is thorough and attentive, ensuring that you feel valued and heard throughout the process. In my care, you're not just another patient – you're an integral part of our family at My Family Psychiatrist. Together, let's work towards getting all of our family members feeling better.
Depression
Depression is, unfortunately, one of the most common child and adolescent mental health disorders. While 2% of children and 4-8% of adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), there are plenty of other children experiencing significant depressive symptoms.
Children with depression, just like adults, experience feelings of sadness, worthlessness, hopelessness, emptiness, and irritability on a daily basis. You may see their school performance decline as depression can make it difficult to concentrate. And if your child has thoughts of death or suicide, getting them the help they need as soon as possible is vital.
Major depressive disorder (MDD): To be diagnosed with MDD, your child must show persistent feelings of sadness or irritability or loss of interest or pleasure in activities they once enjoyed most days in the week, most of the day, for a minimum of two weeks. They will likely also have other symptoms of depression that include low self-esteem, changes in appetite, social withdrawal, and more.
Dysthymic disorder: Symptoms of dysthymia are not as intense as MDD but are more chronic. It is characterized by a long-term change in mood lasting at least one year in children and adolescents.
Depression is a very treatable pediatric mental health condition. When you partner with me as your child’s pediatric psychiatrist, I will take the time to find the proper treatment to get them feeling more like themselves again. They may respond best to therapy alone or benefit from a combination of medication and therapy. If they already see a therapist, I’m happy to coordinate your child’s care with them to ensure a positive therapeutic outcome.