Mental Health Info

Caring for a child with pediatric mental health complications can be quite challenging for both mother and father. In many families, the focus of child care and parenting usually involves attending to the needs of the child in terms of medications and psychotherapy to ease the effects of the mental health disorder for the entire family. In many cases, and unfortunately, the needs of the mother and father who provide the care for the child are often overlooked by healthcare professionals. If you are the parent, or other caregiver, of a child who has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder it is important to seek out services for your own mental health when you sense a complication may be developing.

A unique part of assessing parents, especially those who care for a child with ADHD or other mental health complication, is a tool known as the Parent Experiences Assessment Scale, PAS. This assessment tool uses a 5-point scale and questions parents about their life experiences using 21 items of inquiry. Designed to detect your own level of distress, in response to the circumstances associated with your child's mental health, the PAS is useful in determining what type of mental health services may be best suited for you as a parent. Because paternal and maternal mental health can be affected differently when caring for a child with a pediatric mental health disorder, the PAS should be administered separately to both mother and father.

In addition to the PAS application in parents, if there are other individuals in your family who also provide care to your child, you may want to request PAS assessment for them as well. When role disruption occurs within your family, even the siblings can be adversely affected and may require mental health support services. Following assessment by PAS, each member of your family, and even extended family, will ultimately require a mental health program that is tailored to their specific needs. Issues such as seriousness, anxiety and complications with interpersonal relationship can be developed and improved while still providing some methodology to caring for the child who actually experiences the mental health complication.

In the care of the mental health complications, it is important to remember that not only the child requires care but you, as the parent, may also require care. Because there is a very stressful balance between daily activities and needs, while also balance interpersonal relationships and your child's needs for education and other interaction, it is not uncommon to require mental health support services for yourself. When considering your options, first ask your team of mental health providers to utilize the Parent Experiences Assessment Scale, PAS, to determine what your needs may be and how those are different from your spouse and other children.