Opinion|Reader’s opinion
Our child suffers from anxiety. For the first six months, we had to “sell” our case to caregivers, and our concerns were almost completely ignored.
Adolescent psychiatry specialists Anu Raevuori and Veikko Aalberg wrote (HS Guest Pen 16.10.), how psychiatric care is unable to meet the need for treatment and processes suffer from qualitative shortcomings. In the case of physical illnesses, such deficiencies would be remedied immediately.
We have encountered this in our own families. In our experience, child and adolescent psychiatry would require more resources and skilled staff, but also a change in practices.
Our children suffers from anxiety, and we have had contact care for pediatric and adolescent psychiatric specialist care for less than two years. It’s awful to think about where we would be now if we parents weren’t able and able to look for information, ask, say, find out, coordinate, and most importantly support and listen to our child (and each other).
It also seems a bit bitter to think about how things could have gone if we had been listened to immediately, if proper examinations had been done, if correct diagnoses had been made and treatment started more quickly, and if treatment had also been properly monitored.
Our treatment path has been strange. For the first six months, we had to “sell” our case to caregivers, and our concerns were almost completely ignored. This was despite the fact that the child’s schooling had almost completely stalled and he had severe anxiety and panic attacks on a daily basis.
The next six months were clearly a better time for treatment progress. Therapy and medication were started, and for the first time we felt our concerns were taken seriously.
However, as the transition to adolescent psychiatry began to approach, there was no longer a desire in child psychiatry to take a stand on, for example, medication, but to wait for the issue to be taken over by the adolescent. Now the transition to adolescent psychiatry has taken place, but there again things are not progressing because the young person is not yet known. We naively imagined that the transition to adolescent psychiatry would take place “possibly by switching”. Currently, we only have care contact on paper.
During this time, we have encountered many different and changing professionals to whom we have repeatedly explained the same things. The child is exhausted by the fact that he has to answer the same seemingly stupid questions over and over again. The working time that has been spent on us could have been used much better.
Also a small amount of empathic encounter would be good. One doctor from the treatment path has remembered the child, who uttered the words, “You must have been in trouble.” With this little act, he stood out from the rest and became our favorite doctor.
Care contact itself can be vulnerable and increase feelings if the child and family do not come across in the system but are disappointed and frustrated time and time again.
Parents of an anxious young person
We exceptionally publish the article under a pseudonym.
Reader opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and delivered by the HS editorial board. You can leave a comment or read the principles of the writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.
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