#family-based-treatment-fbt

#family-based-treatment-fbt

Many situations contain irreducible uncertainty. No matter how many variables we try to control, we can't reduce uncertainty to zero. It's inherent in the messiness of life.

'These results do not support our hypothesis that parenthood is positively associated with hedonic wellbeing (levels of positive emotions) and life satisfaction,' the researchers, from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, wrote.

Anger is a core emotion that's pre-wired in the brain. Core emotions tell us what we need and what is good for us. For example, fear (another core emotion) prompts us to seek safety, while sadness tells us there's something to mourn. Anger shows up when we feel violated. This is why feeling wronged, like when our kids repeatedly push back or yell at us, can evoke it.

Evidence Based Medicine was formalized in the 1990s, largely by Canadian physician David Sackett. Sackett described the goal of EBM is to replace hunches and habits with data and clinical trials. Clinical guidelines were developed involving protocols that tell doctors which drug to prescribe first, what dose to use, when to escalate treatment, and when to refer a patient to a specialist.

When a child is labeled "oppositional," adults often assume the problem is the child. In my experience as a child psychiatrist, the truth is often much more complicated. Both families sought out these schools, believing they were giving their children the best education possible. Instead, the schools failed their children, labeling them "oppositional" and "defiant" rather than addressing the root causes of their behavior.

I grew up avoiding conflict, and I was marrying someone who was very good at making his position on just about anything known. In the gap between avoidance and expression, I was paralyzed. I needed help. My soon-to-be husband rightly insisted I see a therapist.

Without effective tools and preparation, many parents understandably default to instinct and use common ineffective tactics, such as warning, advising, informing, or trying to control their teens. The adolescent brain has been compared to a car with a powerful gas pedal and weak brakes when in the presence of other teens or when expecting to be seen by them (Bulow, 2022; Steinberg, 2008). Further, they are drawn to peers, and then instinctively rev each other up into risky experimentation and sensation-seeking.

Every day, many thousands of parents across the U.S. face the difficult question of whether to place their child or teenager on a psychotropic medication. Receiving a diagnosis of a mental disorder can be scary and confusing, for the youth as well as their parents/caretakers. What is ADHD? Depression? Anxiety? OCD? Bipolar? What are the available treatments? Do we have to use medications to treat the symptoms?