Choosing a Child Psychiatrist for Conduct Disorder

I currently work for a company that does work with family's with these types of children. My experience in helping family's with these kinds of resources has been very interesting. I love to work with these family's and watch them grow and learn. I am not an expert by no means and have no degrees in any of these fields. I am basing all my information on experiences gained through working with families and children for 3 years. I work side by side with alot of these professionals and the resource agencies listed below.

First of all it depends on the age of your child as to which professional will work with your child. Your Family Doctor is a good place to start for a recommendation. The first thing I would do is research all the resources available for the child. You can visit with other professionals such as other medical professionals or mental health specialists. You can even call your local Health and Human Services and inquire about some of the Psychiatrists. The Health and Human Services work with these professionals on a regular basis.

Here is some information for those family's without insurance. There are many resources for family's to obtain help with childhood behaviors. These resources can be much cheaper than a Psychiatrist and a great place to start to obtain help with your child. Here are some of the resources we use with my position. If you have an Educational Service Unit in your area, they have staff that work with behavioral modification. This is a great resource and may not cost the family anything to use their resource. Boys and Girls Home of Nebraska has some great self help programs. They are located in Omaha, Nebraska. Also if you have a Regional Service Unit in your area they can help as well. Anyone of these groups can also recommend a good psychiatrist for your child. There are also Therapist that work with children daily with behavioral issues it would be a good idea to check into some of them as well. Some therapist have an age range that they work with only. So you will probably have to call several to find one for your child's age. Once the child sees this therapist they will make a recommendation to a psychiatrist.

Once you find a Psychiatrist or use one of the other resources I have listed. It is very important to build a good relationship with them and for them to do the same with your child. If your child clashes with this particular professional seek to find another if needed. I have seen kids completely shut down and not work with the Psychiatrist or therapists because there is a chemistry clash between them. I wouldn't make a change in haste but after several visits if it seems that this isn't helping look for other avenues.

I know that this is a very difficult issue for family's to have to approach. So many parents I work with tell me it is embarrassing and they don't want people to know they are having difficulty with their child. Parents PLEASE swallow your pride and do the research and find the best you can for your child. The earlier the prevention begins, the sooner you will see results.

One last note: Parents you aren't alone. There are support groups for family's with children of special needs, look for them. These groups can be a great help to you. You will have to have an abundance of love, patience, and wits to deal with all the behavior issues ahead of you, but the reward in the end is the smile on your child's face and the hugs you will receive.