PediPsych

My latest post on Psychology Today looks at some upcoming changes that may be coming to the way psychiatric diagnoses are classified. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is mental health's dictionary (not bible) and new versions from the American Psychiatric Association come out periodically. We haven't had a new edition since 2013 and some changes may be coming. Interested to hear folks thought on how we might improve our diagnostic system which pretty much everyone agrees need some modification.

Big Changes to Psychiatric Diagnoses Are Coming, Maybe The next version of the DSM is being planned with some potentially major changes. Will we get a giant leap forward or just baby steps?

My latest post on Psychology Today looks at a new study that track psychiatric diagnoses assigned to youth over time. There was an expected increase in mood and anxiety disorder, particularly for teens and a quite dramatic drop in Bipolar Disorder diagnoses. Back in the day, this was the controversial diagnosis in child psychiatry. I was trained by those who though Bipolar Disorder was underdiagnosed but I just never bought it and ended up collaborating on research that suggested otherwise. Interesting to see the shifts over time.

The Shifting Rates of Youth Psychiatric Diagnoses A new study finds some youth psychiatric diagnoses are increasing over time while others are dropping fast. What do all these changing numbers actually mean?

You hear a lot of concern about how things like smartphones, helicopter parenting, and COVID have hurt youth mental health lately. There is some evidence to support this, but many folks who work particularly with youth and families who are really struggling see a somewhat different picture in which more foundational forces like genetics, the prenatal environment, and early trauma and adversity continue to exert major influences. This is the subject of my latest Lab to Smartphone column in JAACAP Connect.

Beyond Social Media, Helicopter Parenting, and COVID: Don’t Forget about Foundational Influences of Youth Mental Health | Published in JAACAP Connect By David Rettew. Far too many youth are struggling with their mental health, and there is no shortage of theories for what might be behind this troubling trend.