Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Mood and anxiety disorders can be particularly challenging to address in childhood and adolescence for many reasons. Children may not be able to fully express or understand their feelings and behaviors. Parents may misattribute or not recognize signs and symptoms. The symptoms of disorders also vary when present in children as opposed to adults. The PMHNP needs to know how to diagnose these conditions and must understand the importance of integrating medication management strategies with both individual and family therapy to optimize treatment outcomes.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Explain signs and symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
Explain the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
Explain diagnosis and treatment methods for mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
Develop patient education materials for mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescent
Research signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.
The Assignment
In a 300- to 500-word blog post written for a patient and/or caregiver audience, explain signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.
Although you are not required to respond to colleagues, collegial discussion is welcome.
I chose bipolar disorder on children and adolescents.
Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents
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Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Bipolar disorder refers to a chronic mental disease that causes children or adolescents’ behavior and mood to change frequently, going from “lows” to “highs.” Symptoms of this disorder include short temper, intense sadness or happiness, sleeping problems, racing thoughts, and difficulty concentrating. Other signs are increased hostility, anger, irritability, frequent headaches, eating too much or little, difficulty communicating, feeling hopelessness and worthlessness, and problems in maintaining relationships (National Institute of Mental Health, 2020). Besides, diagnosing bipolar disorder in children and adolescents might be challenging due to erratic behaviors and feelings. As such, parents or guardians are advised to visit psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) when they suspect that their children or teens have bipolar disorder for proper diagnosis.
Pharmacological Treatments
Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can be addressed using pharmacological treatments. However, drug therapies require a high cooperation level between parents and PMHNP. A clear comprehension of the medication rationale to be used must be set, without forgetting to discuss the side effects, benefits, and limitations of distinct types of medicines. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved various medications that can be used to treat bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. For example, young people with bipolar disorder aged between 10 and 17 years can be prescribed asenapine, quetiapine, risperidone, lurasadone, and olanzepine. Those from 13 to 17 years can use olanzapine, and 12 to 17 years can use lithium (Yee, Hawken, Baldessarini, & Vazquez, 2019).
Non-pharmacological Treatments
In most cases, non-pharmacological treatments enhance adherence to medications. They reduce the relapse of bipolar disorder episodes. Additionally, they ameliorate psychosocial relationship damage and improve occupational and social functioning (Delmonte, Barbini, & Smeraldi, 2013). For example, ...