What Type of Physician Should Treat a Child or Adolescent for Depression?
Depressed children are often not diagnosed for years. Some adults recall being depressed since children, and their old diaries or photos confirm their recollection. Unfortunately there is a significant shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists, and other’s who treat children often do not have the years of specialized training or the time to treat subtle forms of depression. Pediatricians and Family Doctors who treat children are often told they are quite able to treat children for depression. When the reality is their ability is due to the fact they are merely the easiest and cheapest option. I suppose some are told they can really know a child in 15-20 minutes, in a sterile white medical exam room. It is hard to believe. In the same way I am very poor at looking in ears and determining the level of infection behind the ear’s inner membrane, these doctor’s can treat many things, but cannot touch the ability of a well rounded, up to date child psychiatrist. I once gave a free talk
