What is adolescent psychiatry?
Adolescent psychiatry is an area of psychiatric practice focused on addressing thinking, behavioral, or emotional disorders in kids as they move through the adolescent years. Dr. Ahmed has extensive experience in this area and has helped many Houston-area families find greater stability and a healthy path forward for their struggling teens.
Adolescent psychiatry is also a very dynamic field, with advancements in diagnostics and treatment occurring every year. Dr. Ahmed invests considerable time and effort to ensure he remains on the cutting edge of those improvements, and is able to offer the very best treatment to those in his care.
What are some challenges adolescents face?
Adolescence is a time when kids are beginning to gain more independence and develop their own unique identity. Developmental changes take place rapidly during the teenage years, and extensive research suggests that brain development is also moving along at a swift pace.
Unfortunately, those tracks don’t always align, and this can leave teens in a position where they feel overwhelmed, misunderstood, frustrated, and in emotional turmoil. Some kids navigate these waters more easily than others.
Some of the challenges that can arise during adolescence include:
- Impulsivity
- Risky behaviors
- Emergence of sexual identity and interest
- Feelings of invincibility
- Focus on peers
- Body image problems
- Belief that others are focusing attention on them
- Depression
- Thoughts of suicide
- Self-mutilation
This is far from a comprehensive list. Some kids seem to move through adolescence with relative ease, while others can develop serious mental health issues along the way.
What kinds of treatment can help with adolescent psychiatry issues?
The first step is finding a psychiatrist like Dr. Ahmed who has experience working with teens and their families. Dr. Ahmed believes in an integrative approach to psychiatric care, and takes time to get to know your child and their specific strengths and challenges.
This is not a setting where drug therapy is the first therapeutic choice. While medications can play an important role in treating some conditions, there are many other ways to help your teen build the skills they need to thrive.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a great example. This form of talk therapy helps your child assess their thoughts and determine which ones might not be accurate or align with the reality of a given situation. They also learn how to make conscious decisions about how to respond to disordered thinking. Dr. Ahmed incorporates the entire family into the process, empowering parents to be the best support system possible for their child.
We see patients in the following locations: River Oaks, Webster, Baytown, and Houston, Texas. Call the office today to book your initial evaluation, or spend a few moments on the online scheduling page.
