Thiruvananthapuram: Adolescence may be too late for a child to start receiving psychological help as many learning disorders which are closely related to brain functioning starts before teen age, said Dr Anil Kumar TV, a senior professor of Psychiatry at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College (MCH).
He was talking about the need to break the stigma associated with approaching a psychologist at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry wards of the Government medical college at early stages of childhood.
On Sunday, as the Medical College Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ward celebrated one year of its existence, over 50 psychologists affiliated to the Kerala chapter of Indian Psychiatry Society and Venad Guild of Psychiatrists got together for a State Conference on Depression among children.
Under the guidance of the head of the department of Child and Adolescence division of CMC Vellore Dr Paul Russel, they dissected various case studies and figured out the ideal solution for various mental issues children face.
“A teenager’s sudden drop in academic ranks could be a sign of an issue. Psychosomatic symptoms like headache or stomachache that girls exhibits may have more to do with depression. Early substance addiction in a boy can be closely related to the stress he lives through as a part of his attention Deficient Hyper Activity Disorder,” said Dr Anil Kumar.
Minister VS Sivakumar who inaugurated the function, reiterated his commitment to start a new Child and Adolescent psychiatry ward in government clinics across the country.
The Head of MCH Department of psychology Dr Anil Prabhakaran and Health Secretary Elangovan were present.
