Diagnostic Dilemmas in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Philosophical Perspectives

by Christian Perring (Editor), Lloyd Wells (Editor)

Overview

Though many of the ethical issues important in adult mental health are of relevance in the child, there are a considerable number of issues special to children. Many of the dilemmas faced pertain to diagnosis, treatment, the protection of the child, as well as the child's own developing intelligence and moral judgement. In addition, there are cases where the interests of the parents may conflict with the interests of the child. For example, the interests of a mother with schizophrenia might best be served by her continuing to look after her child, but the child's interests might require that a substitute placement be found. Diagnostic Dilemmas in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is the first in the IPPP series to explore this highly complex topic. It brings together a collection of clinicians and philosophers who consider a range of topics central to the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents affected by mental disorders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191017179
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	03/13/2014
Series:	International Perspectives in Philosophy & Psychiatry
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Christian Perring is Professor of Philosophy at Dowling College, NY. He has academic degrees from Oxford University, King's College London, and Princeton University. He is a member of the executive council for the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry, and he is the editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews. His research interests are in philosophy of psychiatry, philosophy of psychology, and moral psychology, with particular focus on issues of the moral responsibility of people with mental illness, the classification of disorders in child and adolescent psychiatry, and the role of scientific reductionism in psychiatry. He teaches in a wide variety of areas, including medical ethics, the philosophy of law, the philosophy of sex and love, and the history of psychology. Dr. Wells recently retired after a thirty-nine year career at Mayo Clinic, where he worked in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. For twenty-two years he was Chair of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. For twelve years he served as Vice-Chair of the department, in charge of education issues. For more than twenty years he was medical director of the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit. Dr. Wells was a course director in the medical school for almost twenty years and served as program director for the residency programs in child and adolescent psychiatry and general psychiatry. He examined on the general psychiatry Boards and served as education chair for the Society of Professors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Table of Contents

Section One: Theoretical and Conceptual Issues1. Theoretical and Conceptual Issues: Background and Introduction, Christian Perring and Lloyd A. Wells2. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Conceptual and Diagnostic Issues, Fayez El-Gabalawi3. The Concept of Disease and our Responsibility for Children, Leen De Vreese4. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry between Neuroscience and the Family Perspective: a Pragmatist Approach, Jorid Moen5. Comoribidity in Diagnosis of Children and Adolescents: Conceptual Complications, Benjamin Lovett and S. Brian Hood6. Are Relationship Problems Disorders?, Christian Perring7. 'Moving Parts get Broken': Neuroimaging Research and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Robyn Bluhm8. Psychiatric Nosology in Children and Adolescents: Past, Present, Future, Lloyd A. WellsSection Two: Particular Disorders9. Particular Disorders: Background and Introduction, Christian Perring and Lloyd A. Wells10. Conduct Disorder as a vice-laden diagnostic concept, John Z Sadler11. Conduct- and Oppositional-Defiant Disorders: Pathologizing the Normal, Sara Worley12. Depression in Children and Adolescents, Jennifer Vande Voort13. Bipolar Disorder in Historical Perspective, Lloyd A. Wells14. The Beginning of Wisdom is calling things by their Right Name: A Critique of the Broad Concept of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder using the Robins and Guze model, Bhanu Prakash Kolla

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Soo Lee, MD (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This is an examination of various diagnostic, treatment, and other clinical dilemmas in child and adolescent psychiatry from the perspectives of child psychiatrists and others.
Purpose: The editor provides a collection of philosophical and psychiatric issues in child and adolescent psychiatry, which generally is lacking in literature, to help provide diagnostic clarity and promote rich discussion among clinicians. Children do not always share the same pathophysiology, clinical presentations, and treatment responses with adults. Diagnosis is not always clear and many of the treatments used for children and adolescents are off-label. This is a hot topic in child psychiatry that needs research and knowledge, and multiperspective considerations may broaden the areas for exploration.
Audience: The book is intended for mental health providers in child and adolescent psychiatry, but researchers, psychologists, social workers, fellows, and residents also could use it.
Features: Chapters are written by experts from a myriad of disciplines reviewing the diagnostic, treatment, and other clinical dilemmas in child and adolescent psychiatry. The book includes the formulation and conceptualization of a diseased state, the history and development of diagnostic guidelines, and diagnostic and treatment dilemmas. It reviews current research, which is informative and important but not necessarily complete, and discusses what conclusions can and cannot be made based on current findings. It also considers cultural and ethical considerations and dilemmas in child psychiatry, which has changed over the years. It discusses a few specific disorders, notably bipolar disorder, in which there is controversy over the diagnosis of children and adolescents.
Assessment: As a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow, I see the diagnostic and treatment controversies in clinical practice (and literature), and this book is a comprehensive and helpful tool. I was especially intrigued by the conceptualization of a diseased state, the development and history of diagnostic guidelines, and current nosology and its opposing views. The authors challenge clinicians to consider other perspectives than our current, increasingly biological emphasis on psychopathology. In doing so, the book broadens the horizon for investigation and research.

Doody's Review Service

"[T]his book is a comprehensive and helpful tool. ... The authors challenge clinicians to consider other perspectives than our current, increasingly biological emphasis on psychopathology. In doing so, the book broadens the horizons for investigation and research." Weighted Numerical Score: 100 - 5 Stars! —Doody's Health Sciences Book Review

From the Publisher