By Month: November 2008
Treating Anxiety Disorders in Children; Long-Term Risks of Teen Alcohol Use: Two New Studies
Children’s mental health was the subject of two recent studies. One involved treatment of anxiety disorders, the other examined long-term effects of alcohol use in teenagers.
The first study involved about five hundred children in the United States, ages seven to seventeen. They had moderate to severe disorders involving worries and fears.
For treatment, one group received Zoloft, an antidepressant drug. Another group received cognitive behavioral therapy, sometimes called the talking treatment. Therapists taught the children about anxiety and guided them through structured tasks to help them face their fears.
A third group received both the medicine and the therapy.
View full article at Voice of America.
Kids In Crisis Spend Days In ERs; Psychiatric Patients ‘Boarded’ While They Wait For Bed
Children in crisis who need psychiatric care can end up living in emergency rooms for days before getting it, according to an investigation by WCVB-TV in Boston.
Deb Tilly’s son, Ryan, spent 11 days in a Massachusetts emergency room with a security guard outside his door. His mother said there was no choice but to bring him there.
“He was not safe around himself. He was not safe in the house with us. We were just trying to get him some help,” said Tilly.
On the 11th day, the nurse called Tilly with an alarming report.”
He was very despondent, on the floor in a fetal position. He was crying out to me and was not eating,” said Tilly.
