It’s often said that finding a mental health professional is a little like dating. You don’t just settle on the first person who comes along. You explore your options. See several people. Read their reviews on Yelp.
That last example isn’t as specific to dating, but you see where we are going with this.
Mental health care is more personal than general care. It’s great if you like and trust your general practitioner, but the relationship is ultimately much less collaborative than the dynamic between a patient and their mental health care provider.
If you—or in this case, your child—can’t work well with them, the treatment won’t do anyone any good.
In this article, we take a look at how you can explore the different kinds of mental health experts, and find the best fit for your family.
How Do You Know if Your Child Even Needs Mental Health Services?
Parents of a certain age might have a hard time with this one. If you are thirty or older, you probably grew up in an era where mental health services were not discussed nearly as often as they are now. Certainly, they were not often prescribed to children except in extreme cases of behavior issues.
In fact, there are TONS of reasons a child might benefit from seeing a mental health professional. Behavior issues that interfere with their ability to complete school work might be one factor, but it doesn’t have to be nearly as extreme as that.
Let’s take James as an example. James is five years old. He has recently started Kindergarten. Never even one time has he gotten in trouble at school. His mom would almost welcome the news that he’d acted out, actually. It would indicate a level of comfort at school that he, to this point, has not attained.
James cries every day on the way to school. Nerves. The whole experience makes him anxious. Once a very outgoing child, his parents see now that he lacks an essential confidence that keeps him from branching out at school.
He likes playing with other children but becomes hopelessly self-conscious at even the slightest setback. When someone makes a rude comment or takes a toy away from him, he can’t move on, assuming that this unpleasant encounter indicates something fundamentally wrong with him.
His teacher explains that he is a sweet child, but often quiet.
Now, in the past, James would not have been a likely candidate for therapy. He is, by most quantifiable metrics, doing well. He excels at school concepts. He has never once gotten in trouble. He even has a friend—Ellie—who he hangs all his hopes on. When she is kind to him, he feels over the moon. If she makes an unkind remark, he comes crashing back down to earth like the sort of asteroid once known for killing oversized lizards.
What Can Be Done for a Boy Like James?
You see where we are going with this. James is an ideal fit for mental health services in that they could produce a demonstrable effect on his quality of life. Children don’t need to be acting out to warrant a little bit of help.
But how do you pick someone you can trust? Compatibility is the most important consideration, but it needs to be multifaceted.
- Your child needs to trust the professional. This is the most important factor. Ultimately, your kid is the patient, and they should have the opportunity to work with someone they trust, the same way you would expect that if you were in their position.
- You need to be on the same page where treatment is concerned. Some approaches to therapy favor medication or even behavioral modifications that you might not be comfortable with. You are the parent here. You don’t have to blindly trust the recommendations of the first professional you come across. Explore your options and find the right fit.
But what exactly are those options? Let’s take a look.
Psychiatric Services for Children
The most common types of professionals administering mental health care are:
- Psychologists: Psychologists usually have a PhD in psychology. They are doctors, but not in the medical sense. Their primary focus is on talk therapy. They are good for families who want a more holistic approach to healthcare.
- Psychiatrists: Psychiatrists, on the other hand, are medical doctors. They can prescribe medicine, and perform other services common to MDs. Generally, psychiatrists are quick with prescriptions—not always a bad thing, but something that many parents are uncomfortable with.
You will also find secondary options. Psychiatric nurse practitioners, for example, provide care that is kind of a blend between psychologists and psychiatrists. They can write prescriptions, but they are not MDs.
If your child is attending public school, they will most likely also be connected with a social worker—a service that should be provided at no expense. The social worker will be leveraged in cases where the child’s symptoms are in some way impacting their experience with school.
James, from our earlier example, would be a good candidate for this kind of intervention. Though he is not being disruptive, his anxiety is interfering with his school experience.
James, of course, could also still benefit from the intervention of a psychologist. It is even possible that his school would have one on staff—though generally, public school systems do not leverage their psychologists for regular student consultations.
They are used as a bridge toward more long-term healthcare services.
Sure. Who is Paying for this?
That is the tricky part. School healthcare services are free, but they are more like a spare tire. They will patch you up temporarily, but you still need to find your way toward a long-term solution. We described, at length, the importance of picking someone you like.
Unfortunately, there is a challenging B-side to that which impacts many people: Not enough options. Either your community simply does not have many mental healthcare providers to choose from, or your insurance won’t pay for you to see them.
Telehealth can help with both issues. Virtual consultations radically expand the number of professionals you can select from, and your insurance will most likely cover it.
Short of this, advocate for yourself. It will require a lot of frustration. Contacting an insurance company isn’t ice cream on a summer afternoon, but with persistence, you will eventually find a solution that works for your family.
