The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report |

Featured Articles

Psychotherapy for Pediatric PTSD

In the US, 60% of children report exposure to violence, abuse or other trauma in the past year. Traumatized children like Karina can present to treatment with a range of symptoms, including anxiety, irritability, disruptive behaviors, mood dysregulation, and developmental regression.

You Can’t Say You Can’t Play: What Works for Bullying

While culturally we have become more aware of the prevalence and consequences of bullying, it remains a significant problem and a frequent reason for presentation for psychiatric care. National surveys indicate that bullying affects up to 50% of students.

Post-Concussive Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Head injuries occur in 110 to 400 out of every 100,000 adults each year, but are much more common in children—around 692 per 100,000 children younger than 15. Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs in 75% to 85% of these cases.

An Evidence-Based Approach to OCD

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the mainstay of OCD treatment and has been shown to be more effective and more durable than medication, but it can be insufficient.

The Self-Injurious Patient

When presented with a self-injuring patient, the first thing I try to find out is what the function of the self injury is. Is it suicidal? Did the patient want to die or think he or she might die? Often the answer is “no.”

Insomnia and Mood Disorders in Adolescents

Insomnia and sleep disturbance are common symptoms of depression in adults, but this is not always the case in adolescents. In fact, a group of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh who studied insomnia in depressed teens found that, compared to adults, insomnia in adolescents is different—very different.

Stimulants in the Treatment of ADHD

The gold standards of treatment for ADHD are the stimulants amphetamine and methylphenidate. They are old friends, having been used for decades, and there is a wealth of patient experience with them. Although we use them all the time, an occasional review of the tools in our toolbox is always helpful.