Mental Health Treatment

Mental Health Treatment

Treatment for mental health issues varies depending on the type and severity of the issue. When a mental healthcare provider makes a diagnosis, they evaluate the degree to which the particular illness is affecting your child in order to recommend appropriate treatment. However, there are certain levels and types of treatment that may be helpful for you to understand as you advocate for the best care for your child.

This section describes:

Learn more about common mental health diagnoses

Treating the Child, Not the Diagnosis

For most medical problems, a diagnosis leads to proper and effective treatment. For children affected by a mental illness, however, a diagnosis may not always lead to a specific and effective treatment.

In order to properly treat a child, a provider needs to look beyond the diagnosis and take into account how a child functions in heir family, school, peer group, and community. Some things to consider (and make sure your provider is considering):

  • Mental illnesses exist on a continuum. A continuum means that there are different levels of severity for each mental illness. Signs and symptoms can range from mild to severe and are usually not the same for each child. Children with the same illness may not act the same, show the same signs and symptoms, or need the same treatment. In fact, treatment options for a mental illness will vary depending on how mild or severe the symptoms are.
  • Children with a mental illness are still children, which means they are constantly developing, growing, and changing. Because of this, treating children with a mental illness requires a different approach. Children will need to be re-evaluated as they develop.
  • A child may get diagnosed and treated for one illness, when in fact they have more than one illness. Or perhaps they do not even have the originally diagnosed illness, but a completely different one.

For all these reasons, it is important to treat the child, rather than just the diagnosis!

When Choosing Alternative Treatments

Many other types of treatment are available besides those listed in this guide. The ones listed here are evidence-based treatments, meaning they have been studied extensively and proven to work. This does not mean that other treatments may not work for your child. However, it is important to be extremely cautious in choosing alternative treatments for your child. Always do your homework and talk to your child’s treatment providers. Some of these treatments don’t work, can interact with your child’s other treatments, or even worse, can be harmful to your child.

father and young son sitting on steps outside and talking
Sometimes, there is no way to prepare for a crisis. However, if you are working with a mental health specialist, part of your treatment should include a plan for what to do in an emergency.
Bradley Hospital