Adolescent Mental Health

Change the trajectory.

Early recognition and treatment of mental suffering or behavioral disturbance in young people has the powerful potential to steer the course towards a flourishing and fulfilling life. 

New research shows that children and adolescents who receive specialty mental health treatment are nearly half as likely to develop an anxiety disorder in adulthood. 

At Via Clinic, we perform psychiatric evaluations, conduct medical management and coordinate care for commonly recognized and treatable syndromes, including:

Anxiety

  • While shyness and hesitation are common temperamental traits, excessive amounts of worry, nervousness and fear can cause both suffering and missed opportunities. 
  • Anxiety in childhood and adolescence can manifest as social avoidance, school refusal, difficulty separating from loved ones, or trouble speaking around other people.

Mood changes

  • Sadness and crying spells can be a sign of depression. However, young people’s moods often manifest differently compared to adults. Irritability, withdrawal, self-isolation, and detachment can also be warning signs of treatable suffering. 
  • Tantrums, aggression, and outbursts may also be clinically important mood symptoms, especially when they are severely impairing and out of proportion to the situation. It is oftentimes important to distinguish signs of Bipolar Disorder from Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) in order to establish an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.

Attention deficits

  • Attention deficits go well beyond “short attention spans.” They refer to a neurodevelopmental delay or dysfunction in our brain’s ability to filter out competing stimuli or impulses and intentionally direct our cognitive efforts. They may also refer to our brain’s ability to hold multiple pieces of information on our top of mind while doing other mental work.
  • When severe, trouble with attention can be disabling in nature. While often associated with difficulty surrounding school and homework, attention problems can have far-reaching effects including:
  1. Dependency on family members for daily self-management
  2. Trouble managing a routine or schedule; being on-time
  3. Feeling discouraged or incompetent 
  4. Difficulty functioning in social settings; trouble making or keeping friends 
  5. Aggressive, risky or impulsive behaviors; not considering downstream consequences
  • Management is holistic and multifactorial. Parental education and guidance, improving time management and organizational skills, and learning self-regulation and self-compassion are necessary steps. Medication therapy to help compensate for attention deficits may be useful in select circumstances.

Autism

  • The autism spectrum refers to a broad and varied description of brain functioning that can include difficulties with social skills, speech, non-verbal communication, repetitive behaviors or restricted interests. Signs of autism can manifest by age 2 or 3. We recommend reviewing further on the Autism Speaks website.
  • Early detection – through neurodevelopmental evaluation – and early intervention – such as through Applied Behavior Analysis – are key. 
  • Psychiatric management of autism commonly involves the treatment of associated moods, behaviors and other symptoms. These can include: irritability, outbursts, aggression or attention difficulties. Coordination of care with a multidisciplinary team is often needed.