Hospitalizing Children
Children and teenagers represent a significant group of mental health care consumers. Like young adults with schizophrenia, some recover or go into remission. Others worsen with time. As with young adults, hospitalization is an option if symptoms become severe. The treatment plan developed for a child by the physician and hospital staff will address needs similar to those of adult patients. In addition, the plan should take the child's academic needs into account.
Factors to Consider for a Hospitalized Child
A minor should have access to all types of therapy — individual, group, family, and educational — that he needs during hospitalization. Social skills can be learned and practiced in activity therapy. If necessary, the child can be treated for alcohol and drug abuse. Some of the questions you and your doctor probably will want to answer when deciding whether hospitalization is required include the following:
Does the child pose a real and immediate threat to himself or others?
Is the child's behavior bizarre and destructive to those around him?
Does the child require careful observation and monitoring while taking medication?
Does the child need around-the-clock care to improve?
Has the child failed to improve or recover in other, more open treatment facilities or environments?
Source: the American Psychiatric Association
Family therapy is very important for the child's future. You and other family members or guardians should take advantage of family therapy to learn the most effective techniques for communicating and working with the child. It also is important that you learn as much as you can about the nature of the child's illness, his current course of treatment, and what progress to expect in the future.
Getting Good Care for Your Child
Most likely, hospitalization will be a short-term experience for a child. One reason is the lack of long-term hospitals. Short hospital stays are possible with the assistance of antipsychotic drugs, but many children and others with schizophrenia would benefit from longer stays in facilities that could provide a secure environment, treatment, education, and therapy under one roof. For the most part, such facilities are too expensive for all but a small percentage of the population.
Consequently, finding good care can be a hit-or-miss experience. It takes effort and persistence to find the right doctor and other mental health care workers to work with you to help your child. Don't stop until you have found treatment that controls psychotic symptoms, a process that will not happen overnight. Seek out therapy programs that make a difference to your child. Always try to minimize stress in your child's life, but expect setbacks.
