Unfortunately, in our society, having a psychiatric illness, going to a psychologist or psychiatrist and receiving support are still perceived as strange and people have difficulty in explaining them comfortably. However, in the background of this situation, there is the fact that the number of individuals who receive or need psychological support is very high due to today's living conditions, stress effects and the increase in cultural level as a result of the development of science.
Generally, even if parents realize that there is a problem in their children, they may avoid going to the doctor because of concerns such as "if I take them to a psychiatrist, will they face problems tomorrow?", "will they have problems getting hired?", "will it be recorded negatively on their record?". And as a result, unfortunately, these problems can grow like an avalanche and sometimes ossify and have a negative impact on the following years. In addition, many parents are not aware that the problems they experience in daily life can be easily solved with professional support.
A parent has the responsibility to meet the child's basic care needs. Just as clothing, nutrition, shelter and education are among these responsibilities, a child's psychological needs are also included in this scope.
A child can/should be taken to a child and adolescent psychiatrist when there are problems in his/her development or psychology, when there are symptoms that have not been present before, after a traumatic life event (such as an earthquake, loss of relatives, serious illness, divorce of parents), to evaluate school adaptation, to evaluate the normal development of children in the risk group with psychiatric disorders in the family.
It is recommended that children and adolescents, preferably between the ages of 0 and 18, are first evaluated by a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry, and that appropriate therapy support is carried out with the right psychologists as a result of the physician's detailed examination and evaluation.
Child and adolescent psychiatry specialists first receive 6 years of general medicine, i.e. medical doctor training at the medical faculty and become a doctor. As a result, they take the specialty exam in medicine, achieve a certain score, specialize in child and adolescent psychiatry for 4 or 5 years, and gain the right to work in this field after passing the specialty exam. He/she has detailed knowledge of all mental problems and diseases seen in children and adolescents and has the knowledge and authority to treat them. A child and adolescent psychiatry physician also knows many therapy methods and is authorized to apply them. He/she is never a physician who "just prescribes medication".
Child and adolescent psychologists, on the other hand, after graduating from the psychology department at the university, have a master's degree in clinical psychology and are authorized to see clients and patients. They attend trainings and receive certificates to administer various psychological tests. They also participate in therapy trainings that they are interested in (such as play therapy, behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, analytical therapy, EMDR and trauma therapy) and become authorized to practice by obtaining certificates.
The way we work in our center: Physicians and psychologists specialized in the field of children and adolescents work in cooperation and communication. As a result of the evaluation of the child, an individualized plan is made and the most appropriate program is recommended for that child. This program is usually an integrated form of various forms of age-appropriate therapy (such as play therapy, behavioral training, parent counseling) as well as periodic follow-up by the physician. If deemed appropriate by the physician, the child may also be referred to a speech and language disorders specialist or an occupational therapist.
If your child has the following problems, it would be useful to seek advice from a child and adolescent psychiatry specialist:
- Failure in developmental milestones (lack of mental, language and communication skills expected for his/her age)
- Late speech
- Stuttering - slurred speech
- Success problems at school
- School adaptation problems, school phobia
- Learning problems
- Attention problems
- Excessive mobility
- Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
- Test anxiety
- Uninterested children who do not make eye contact, do not speak, have repetitive movements
- Autism
- Tics (involuntary hand, face, eye movements)
- Obsessions (disturbing behaviors that you can't stop doing - such as repetition, repetition)
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Sleep problems (such as sleep terrors, nightmares)
- Urinary and fecal incontinence day or night (over 4-5 years of age)
- Extreme shyness, Social Phobia
- Unhappiness, tension, not wanting to do anything, physical symptoms, sleep-appetite problems
- Self-harm and suicidal thoughts
- Eating problems
- Fears, anxiety disorder
- Phobias that seriously affect daily life
- Hair plucking, severe skin picking, scarring
- Divorce period
- Post-traumatic (natural disasters, death events, exposure to bullying or abuse)
- My child has challenging behavior. How should I treat him/her?
- Behavioral and anger problems (lying, running away from home and school, violence, property damage, etc.)
- Bipolar disorder
- Delusions, talking to oneself, not going out, withdrawing, neglecting self-care