Child Psychiatry began to be mentioned in the world in the 1930s and in our country in the 1955s. In our country, “Child Psychiatry Institute” was established with the initiative of Prof. Dr. İhsan Şükrü AKSEL. It was accepted as a separate specialty in 1990. In 1997, it gained the status of a department under the name of “Department of Child Psychiatry and Diseases”.
Child Psychiatry is a branch of medical medicine that is graduated from medical school and then completed with 5 years of specialization training. It is defined as “a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of childhood cognitive and emotional disorders”.
Although there are various debates about the distinction and functions of psychiatrist and psychologist in the mental health environment, professional boundaries have become clearer today. However, there are still serious confusions among the public about the distinction between psychiatrist and psychologist and their work.
There is a general opinion such as ”the doctor who prescribes medicine is a psychiatrist, the doctor who speaks is a psychologist”.
Child Mental Health and Diseases specialists are people who have the ability to identify the developmental processes of children, the environmental, physiological and attitudinal problems that arise during these processes, and to provide the necessary support.
It uses family support for the normal progress of cognitive and emotional development in the child, family interviews for environmental and social arrangements, interviews with children and adolescents, and appropriate psychotherapy techniques. In addition, drug therapy applications suitable for the age of the child are also used for necessary diagnoses.
Some social misconceptions about psychiatric drugs may cause problems in initiating drug therapy in children. However, as Child Psychiatrists, the reason for the negative thoughts of the families on this issue should be discussed and the necessity of treatment, effects and side effects should be explained clearly and clearly. In the cognitive and emotional developmental problems detected in the child, there is a very important situation such as determining the physiological situations and directing them to the required specialty.
The demand for Child Psychiatry is increasing day by day in our country. This situation can be considered as an indicator of the increased awareness of other branch physicians, families, teachers and even the child or young person. Although the number of medical faculties offering specialization in this specialty has increased, unfortunately, there is still no Child Psychiatry Specialist in our country that will be sufficient for the population.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Specialists:
1- NON-PHYSIOLOGICAL LANGUAGE AND SPEECH DISORDERS: In other words, if it is a language and speech problem that is not caused by conditions such as anatomical disorders of speech organs, hearing problems, epilepsy, hydrocephalus The diagnosis and treatment process is determined by psychiatric evaluation, family history and psychometric evaluations.
2- AUTHISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS (OTIM AND OTHERS): The child has symptoms such as limited social interaction, insufficient eye contact, retardation in verbal communication, apathy, problems in receiving emotional signals, repetitive behaviors, limitation in peer relationships, etc. psychiatric evaluation should be done. Arrangement of treatment and follow-up of treatment should be discussed.
3-ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: Diagnosis and treatment arrangement should be made by a child psychiatrist for this disorder, which creates negative effects on family, school and social life with its main symptoms of inattention, mobility and impulsivity.
4-SPECIAL LEARNING DISORDER: If the child has problems in learning concepts suitable for his/her age and developmental level, learning letters and numbers, and problems in direction and time development, diagnosis is made by psychiatric evaluation, psychometric evaluation, treatment is arranged and followed up.
5-DEPRESSION: If the child has symptoms such as unhappiness, sad facial expression, anger, behavioral changes, tension, reluctance, fatigue for more than 1 month, evaluations and interviews are made. Physiological causes must be ruled out. Diagnosis and treatment follow-up.
6- ANXIETY DISORDERS: These conditions, which present with different symptoms such as separation anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder, are also seen in children. Symptoms such as sudden mood changes, anxious state, fears, sleep changes, not wanting to go to school, and fear of being alone can be observed. Psychiatric evaluation should be done and appropriate treatment options should be discussed.
7-TIC DISORDERS: Sudden, repetitive, non-rhythmic motor and/or involuntary contraction of vocal muscles in children. In such cases, whether the tics are transient or chronic is determined by psychiatric evaluation and follow-up. Treatment options can be reviewed with the family and child. If left untreated, it can cause problems in social, academic areas and self-perception.
8- EATING PROBLEMS: It is one of the main problems of mothers especially in young children. After a psychiatric evaluation, support is provided about the correct eating habits and maternal attitudes in this regard.
If the nutritional problem is caused by another physiological problem, referrals are made to the necessary specialists. Eating disorders such as BULI CBD and ANOREXIA NERVOSA can also be seen in the age range of 16-20, mostly in girls, due to body image concerns, family and peer conflicts, etc. in later ages. It should be followed up with appropriate treatment after a thorough medical evaluation.
9-Destructive BEHAVIOR DISORDERS: Behavioral problems with many symptoms such as arguing with adults, being angry, problems in friendships, difficulties in complying with social rules, intentionally harming people or animals, theft, lying, correct diagnosis and treatment support If it is not taken, there will be significant problems in the family, social and academic environment.
10-SLEEP DISORDERS: Treatments are arranged for falling asleep and maintaining sleep, and insufficient sleep time, especially in children with developmental delay problems. In cases such as normal sleep rhythm disorders, nightmare disorder, night terrors, teeth grinding and sleepwalking, psychiatric and, if necessary, physiological evaluations are evaluated and appropriate treatment is determined.
11-INTELLECTUAL DEFAULTS: There are many reasons for mental retardation. Mental retardation causes problems in areas such as learning, emotion, organizing behavior and attention. We do not treat mental retardation. We apply the necessary treatments for the problems caused by this problem.
12-OBESSIVE COMPULSORY DISORDER: The child may have normal regularity, controls, and sequential actions. These do not adversely affect the flow of daily life. When these routines are made compulsory or not, they create emotions such as anxiety, fear, excitement, and if there is a need to do repetitive obsessive behaviors more often to get rid of them, this situation can be considered as an obsession disorder.
In this case, getting support from Child Psychiatry is important for diagnosis and treatment. Especially early-onset such conditions will lead to more significant problems in adulthood if they are not diagnosed and treated early.
13-PROBLEMS IN ADOLEMENTAL PERIOD: Adolescence is a normal period in the development process. However, sometimes intense anxiety experienced during this period, future concerns brought about by living conditions, problems with friends, communication problems with family, substance use problems, etc. In cases where it is difficult to cope, supportive treatments are beneficial.
14: EXAM ANXIETY: Actually, anxiety disorders are mentioned in this regard, but the changing education and examination system can create serious problems for children and families. In this regard, supportive and coping with anxiety and, if necessary, drug treatments are applied.
Although there are many more psychiatric condition assessments, I wanted to mention the main and more prominent ones above. At the same time, in many cases such as toilet habits, sleeping habits, eating habits, parents divorce, sibling and sibling jealousy in the normal development process of children, although there is no disorder with symptoms at the level of psychiatric disorder, interviews for families and children who only have problems in coping. counseling is provided for them.
