Philosophy
An evaluation will provide diagnoses (if appropriate) and recommendations in a report that can be used by other providers (therapists, psychiatrists, pediatricians) to determine appropriate intervention, and if needed for schools to provide accommodations.
Parents may not have as much experience with child and adolescent mental health and psychopathology to understand what is typical and usual, and when behavior becomes concerning. A parent is an expert on their child, they know your child well; however, a psychologist is an expert of development and behavior. Therefore, psychologist can parents work collaboratively for a shared beneficial outcome.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), reports that nearly one out of every five Americans has a mental illness, even though they may not be diagnosed. Mental illness and mental health touch every aspect of our lives. From learning in school, to the type of occupation we hold, to how we engage in social relationships, mental health touches everything. I encourage you to think about your family and friends and I think that it would not take long to confront mental health. Everyone, is either directly or indirectly impacted, it could be a friend’s child with autism spectrum disorder, or a family member with a history of addiction. In a family where one person has a serious mental illness, everyone in the family is directly impacted by it.
Research has shown that early identification and early intervention lead to the best outcomes. Therefore, if early diagnosis and early treatment tends to be more beneficial. As you may expect, it is much easier to teach anxiety coping skills to someone who is beginning to experience anxiety compared to someone that has been challenged by anxiety for decades.
Although greatly reduced, there is still stigma with mental illness not being discussed openly, which causes shame to the individual and the entire family. There may be different stigma’s in different cultural groups or different families to pretend that a mental illness does not exist. If stigma or shame is a concern, I would encourage you to find likeminded people, such as support groups or other people you may know that have experienced the same situation. These supports can be helpful in providing a way to process your concerns and develop strategies to manage them.
Some parents don’t want their child to be labeled, or are concerned about what a label will mean for their child. Some parents knows that their child is struggling and they want to figure it out how to best help them. As such, the labeling piece can be reassuring and can provide a framework for next steps. For other parents, it's scary to think that their kid might be different, and they are grieving the loss of the dreams they had for their child. My perspective is that a label or a diagnosis does not change your child, it is used for providers as a way identify and understand the difficulties and challenges that someone may have and determine appropriate interventions.