Adolescent Psychiatrist Sydney

In 2020, almost one in three young people around Australia said they experienced high or very high levels of mental distress. It is also seen in multiple surveys that COVID-19 pandemic has has negative impacts on adolescents.

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Adolescents may experience some of the following:

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• Being bullied

• Being in an abusive relationship

• Drinking 
• Drug issues
• Feeling alone
• Feeling low all the time
• Feeling bad about their body - feeling too fat/skinny
• Hating themselves
• Sexual abuse
• Uncertainty about sexual identity

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Some or more of these can give rise to mental health disorders. Some of the mental health disorders reported among adolescents are:

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• Major depressive disorder

• Anxiety disorders (social phobia, Separation anxiety disorder, Generalised anxiety disorder, Obsessive-compulsive disorder)

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

• Conduct disorder and oppositional problem behaviours (ODD)

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Adolescents may initially access the services available at school, local health services, phone lines, etc. However, in some cases, the general practitioner (GP) may refer r the adolescent to an adolescent psychiatrist. An adolescent psychiatrist is an expert in the mental health of young people aged 13 to 19. Working with a specialist is important because mental illness presents differently in adolescents than in adults. 

 

When treating adolescents the while psychiatrist will work more directly with the adolescent recognising the teenager's desire for emerging independence, they will also include parents or caregivers as well as the other members of the child’s care team.

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In Australia (and in many parts of the world), the psychiatric sub-speciality that deals with adolescents is called Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

 

What does an adolescent psychiatrist do?

 

Child and Adolescent psychiatrists are specialists in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. Though they are also Adult psychiatrists, their practice differs from that of adult psychiatrists. Because adolescents are also in a critical stage of their lives, an adolescent psychiatrist places as much emphasis on the teenager's mental health as they do on the patient's emotional, social, and behavioural development. 

 

To help a teenager navigate their inner emotional world and the world around them, child and adolescent psychiatrists specialise in treatments tailored and tested among children and adolescents. 

 

Some of the treatments used include:

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• Psychodynamic therapy

• Family therapy

• Cognitive behaviour therapy

• Pharmacological or Medicinal therapies

 

At Dolphin Tribe, we offer tailor-made expert specialist assessment, diagnosis and treatment for adolescents. Typically, we see new patients in Eastwood, NSW and Sydney, NSW who are under the age of 25.

 

Our adolescent psychiatrists, provide a complete psychiatric assessment, diagnosis and treatment for teenagers experiencing mental illness. Ask us to see how an adolescent psychiatrist in Sydney can help your child.

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