Special Topics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Adoption describes the legal and permanent transfer of parental rights from the biological parents of a child to the parties seeking to adopt. This legal process is acceptable and has seen many non-biological parents raise children as their pen particularly those that cannot have children. However, adoption is an acceptable process for any willing party. Adoption presents notable psychological impacts on the child, the biological and as well the adoptive parents and hence assessment, treatment options and cultural factors should be recognized in child and adolescent psychiatry.Special Topics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Psychological issues resulting from adoption

Adoption involves loss of a child born to the biological parents. As such it involves emotional impacts in form of grief particularly to the child who lost their parents and the biological parents who lost their child. The child might as well become confused following the loss of the birthparents and the previously built relationships. They might lose their identity in the process and hate their parents for giving them up to other people instead of fighting for them regardless of their situation. On the other hand, the adopted child might develop anger and hatred towards the adoptive parents for taking them away from their birth parents. This has been reported to result in behavioral and developmental challenges causing depression, attachment difficulties, aggressiveness, rebellion and social withdrawal. Notably, the adoptive parents may feel rejected, inadequate and guilty of the complexities arising from the adoption process (American Nurses Association, 2014).

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Assessment measure

The assessment of adoptive children and their families demands thoughtfulness and careful approaches. The psychiatrist need to understand that the families experience complex challenges such as deprivation, neglect, loss, grief, instability, separation and abandonment and therefore, individualized measures are a necessity (Lee, Fouras & Brown, 2015). An individualized risk assessment measure is the most appropriate and effective. It determines the risks associated with the adoption of a child, the factors in the previous or current home that could influence mental disturbance and help determine the level of intervention required (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Treatment options available for children and adolescents

Treatment options available for adopted children and adolescents include medication and counselling. Psychotherapy is the most effective treatment to patients with mental conditions since it involves the identification of triggers causing abnormal behaviors and emotions as well as thoughts and seeks to manage the, using cognitive behavioral therapy (Sadock, Sadock, & Ruiz, 2014). Here, children and adolescents are able to share the problems they experience at home and within the society that affect their psychological wellbeing and seek to find solutions to mental illnesses. Prescription of drugs such as antipsychotics and stimulants can also help manage the mental wellbeing of the patients depending on the kind of psychological disorders they present. Trauma-informed treatments for these patients can include Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adolescents and for the children; Child Parent Psychotherapy treatment can be employed. Special Topics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Culture influence on treatment

Cultural differences influence the treatment of adopted children and adolescents in diverse ways. For instance, the biological parent’s culture could differ from that of the adoptive parents and therefore, the child might be forced to take treatment plans that are against what they consider culturally right and that which is acceptable to the adoptive parents (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Adolescents might also be deprived of parental care during treatment as the adoptive parents fail to check up on the treatment plan in cultures that perceive adolescents to be independent.

References

American Nurses Association. (2014). Psychiatric-mental health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Lee, T., Fouras, G., & Brown, R. (2015). Practice parameter for the assessment and management of youth involved with the child welfare system. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(6), 502–517. Retrieved from http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(15)00148-3/pdf

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry (11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer. Special Topics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry