Child Psychiatry

Well, this past week, I have working in the childrens' psychiatric unit. At first, I was apprehensive since I have not been around kids a lot. I wondered if I would be able to relate to them and help them. The apprehension was soon replaced with a kind of sadness as kids matter-of-factly told me their stories. We had one kid who was admitted to the unit because he had thrown a chair at a teacher (in the US, you can forcibly admitted to a psych unit -- EOD -- emergency ordered detention -- if you are considered a harm to yourself or others; this kid fit the latter requirement). It turns out that he has a lot of problems, losing his temper and getting into fights with other kids and adults. The only person he does not fight with is his mother. When I asked him about his dad, he told me his dad was in prison. He last saw him 3 years ago and last spoke to him a year ago. I asked him if he missed his dad. He shrugged his shoulders and said that "a little", then added that he hadn't got to know him really well, since he had been in prison before and was only out for a short while before he was back in again. His problem: depression. Well, I think I would be depressed too! We are giving him anti-depressants and teaching him 'anger management' skills. Another kid has been hallucinating since the age of two! He hears whispers around him at all times, sees snakes and imagines his entire past. The prognosis for him is not good. He is a loveable, if somewhat hard to manage kid, but one who has developed the symptoms of schizophrenia very, very early. Of course, there are several mental illnesses in his family: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. That can't help. There are lots of stories to tell. Every child is a story, most of them not happy ones. I mean, how do handle hearing a 9 year-old girl tell you that she wants to kill herself because she bear to go on living? She even had a plan -- to slit her wrists. Interestingly, in this particular case, we could not find a precipitating stressor for the depression. Of course, there is a family history of depression, though none of suicide. There were many interesting cases.
I really came to love the staff who work there. They love the kids and discipline them too. The kids know that they discipline in love, so they love them back (that is, those kids that are capable of loving; we have some kids with attachment disorder, who do not know how to do that).
This coming week is my last week in psych. After that, I begin ob/gyn. That should be 'fun'. I have never seen a live birth before, so working in the L & D (Labor & Delivery) unit should be lots of fun. I also look forward to gynecology -- everything from routine pap smears and pelvic exams to surgery).