Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 167 guests, and 10 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    parentologyco, Smartlady60, petercgeelan, eterpstra, Valib90
    11,410 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
    Joined: Feb 2012
    Posts: 1,390
    E
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    E
    Joined: Feb 2012
    Posts: 1,390
    We were able to get in within a couple of weeks with the people we have seen, but it did take some calling around.

    I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is experiencing this, HK!

    When I was at MIT, I was able to get talk therapy (in conjunction with medication) for depression with a renowned psychiatrist as part of my student health benefits. (On the other hand, it was needlessly difficult and expensive to get an IUD.) That was a few years ago, but I don't think that things have degraded that much. This is one of those questions that it doesn't occur to anyone to ask when they are looking at colleges, but there can be big differences from place to place.

    Good luck!

    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 5,181
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 5,181
    I think that is probably true, Elizabeth. The thing is, now that parents and students know to ask-- most colleges are CLAIMING that they offer such benefits. Most point to shiny new "centers" for students (though they may fail to note things like "an appointment takes just minutes to MAKE... but might be seven weeks away..." or that "this isn't really an office that is staffed full time" or that "this service is only for student athletes," etc.) but that just muddies the waters.

    So sure; most campuses are aware that they have a problem in this regard and have appointed administrators to handle it. With predictable results...

    They don't. If anything, there seems to have been a dramatic shift toward pharmacology and one or two "counseling" appointments as your limit. Beyond that and you need to go outside the university-- and they don't seem to know how to do a referral. It's puzzling to me.

    DD has expressed tremendous frustration-- she frankly thinks that the two professionals that she has been dealing with are borderline in terms of basic competence to start with (and so do we, given what she was initially "diagnosed" with) and they have been more interested in poking and prodding at her as an interesting laboratory specimen than in HELPING her. She's tried asking for "tools" or "things to try" etc. to manage her anxiety-- to no avail.

    She is six weeks into "getting help through the university" after a major Hail Mary effort last term that involved me going with her, and a professor petitioning the registrar for a late course withdrawal, etc.

    She's a student with a disability already, and has pointed out to the mental health professionals that there is known comorbidity with it and anxiety disorders (which seems like news to them-- yikes)-- so why are these people not communicating with that office? I have no idea.

    The one psychiatrist has apparently never done any work with a student who has perfectionism like DD's. It was news to this person that such perfectionism could result in anxiety disorders, or that it might be connected in some way to her underlying disabling condition. The clinician wants to see DD for a third "diagnostic" appointment in ANOTHER two weeks (this makes it 8 since she requested the appointment after being referred by the on-campus counseling center). This clinician is "going to request* some literature" and "read about" the possibility of a connection (the one that DD pointed out to her that research supports) in the mean time.

    It was also news that DD might have suicidal ideation without being depressed. Like-- at all. When asked if she had thoughts about it, she answered in the affirmative (and by the way-- a fair number of excellent clinicians WILL NOT WORK WITH such adolescents-- period) and when asked if she had a plan, she retorted (truthfully) that she hardly needs more than a buck in her wallet and the nearest vending machine-- does that count as "planning" in this context? Because there's no bright line when you have DD's disabling condition. It's a lot easier to attempt suicide than to do all that you need to do to ensure your survival day to day. KWIM? Again-- news to the doc. (Maddening.)

    They seem VERY interested in the fact that she had relatively few friends and was educated at home as a child. Initially, DD found this mildly amusing, but now it is just ticking her off that they won't listen to her.





    * when DD told me about this, I confess that I rather snidely asked if she offered to show the doc how PubMed works.


    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
    Joined: Feb 2015
    Posts: 14
    Y
    Junior Member
    Offline
    Junior Member
    Y
    Joined: Feb 2015
    Posts: 14
    I have some insight into thIs problem. My father's a psychologist, and i have some experience as a patient. I know im perfectly capable working out WHY i feel the way i do by myself. Ive never found that that helps fix my problems.especially when the problem is how i act in the face of stress. one sees a psychiatrist for meds. For practical advice about proactively changing your emotional response to situations or thoughts, for self work on your habits of mind, she will need a good psychologist with a strong background/focus in cognitive behavioral therapy, or maybe a precocious and passionate grad student with adequate supervision. Try a support group for recommendations, or someone from the psychology department on campus. or try calling a nearby hospitalfor suggestions. The cognitive behavioral therapy thing is important. If you get a therapist with a psychoanalytical background, they help you figure out why, instead of how to make things better. Also important is rapport. If a therapist doesn't seem like it's working out, you should try to find one who you can work with asap, because it's likely a waste of time and money if that isn't there.

    the wait may be a problem But more so if she's seeing a psychiatrist for therapy,there's less of them to go around. It could be an insurance issue.or just a matter of making enough phone calls. In the meantime, there are always books, or message boards, or research papers if that's her cup of tea. she could go to taichi or yoga or do meditation or breathing excercises other things that promote mindfulness, which would give her a head start on cbt anyway, and might help in and of themselves. Hopefully you figure something out soon.
    good luck.

    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 5,181
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 5,181
    Thanks-- that makes a lot of sense.

    We had already concluded that DD's personality and DIY outlook on things tend to make her a CBT candidate-- and a tough sell with any other therapeutic approach.

    There are only a couple in town that work with adolescents, though-- so we've gotten her a few CBT oriented workbooks that seem to address the underlying issues, and are still looking while she does that.



    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
    Joined: Nov 2013
    Posts: 314
    N
    ndw Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    N
    Joined: Nov 2013
    Posts: 314
    Would online programs be of any help while you wait? There are a number that have been developed in Australia for children, adolescents and adults which have a CBT basis eg the BRAVE program and ecouch.


    http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-fa...d-websites/online-support-and-treatments

    https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au/teen-program
    https://ecouch.anu.edu.au/welcome

    Mood gym is for depression but teaches CBT to adolescents.
    https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

    This review looked at efficacy of such programs but there was a limitation that many had small sample sizes. Still, useful resources and tools.

    http://www.cphjournal.com/archive_journals/v5_1_187-231.pdf

    Not sure if you have similar programs in America. The ones above are hosted by respective Universities but may be location specific, I don't know.


    Joined: Nov 2014
    Posts: 37
    C
    Junior Member
    Offline
    Junior Member
    C
    Joined: Nov 2014
    Posts: 37
    Where I work in Australia - where of course the system is different - it'd be most efficient to see a paediatrician/physician urgently which isn't too hard if your GP knows them and get a psychology referral via them. Even though everyone is always booked out it ensures that the doctor also takes on some of the responsibility and can also recommend the therapist they think would be the best fit.

    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    A
    aeh Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    Free PTSD and mindfulness apps developed by the VA:

    http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/index.asp

    There's a CBT app, too, but targeted at insomnia.

    Text resources on various adolescent mental health issues, written to both adolescents and caregivers at www.copecaredeal.org, now http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/aci/copecaredeal-org/


    ...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    A
    aeh Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    Originally Posted by ndw
    Would online programs be of any help while you wait? There are a number that have been developed in Australia for children, adolescents and adults which have a CBT basis eg the BRAVE program and ecouch.


    http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-fa...d-websites/online-support-and-treatments

    https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au/teen-program
    https://ecouch.anu.edu.au/welcome

    Mood gym is for depression but teaches CBT to adolescents.
    https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

    This review looked at efficacy of such programs but there was a limitation that many had small sample sizes. Still, useful resources and tools.

    http://www.cphjournal.com/archive_journals/v5_1_187-231.pdf

    Not sure if you have similar programs in America. The ones above are hosted by respective Universities but may be location specific, I don't know.
    Good to know about these Aussie resources. I may pass some of them on to my students.


    ...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...
    Joined: Nov 2012
    Posts: 2,513
    A
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Nov 2012
    Posts: 2,513
    Here in Canada psychiatrist visits are covered under public health care, whereas psychologists are not. A psychologist visit can be easily had within a week and is paid for out of pocket, whereas the wait for a psychiatrist (or even a GP with separate training in counselling) spans 1-6 months and cannot be accelerated through private payment.


    What is to give light must endure burning.
    Joined: Nov 2013
    Posts: 314
    N
    ndw Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    N
    Joined: Nov 2013
    Posts: 314
    The This away Up program is well reviewed aeh and may be of interest to your students. Gavin Andrews is a psychiatrist who has been at the forefront of using the Internet to reach patients with mental health needs. He reports an 80% improvement rate across thousands of participants.

    It certainly interesting given how long it can take to get an appointment, if the resources exist at all in your area. There are many areas of Australia where there are no resources at all.

    http://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2014/07/18/elderly-succeed-internet-depression-treatment/

    https://www.virtualclinic.org.au

    Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

    Moderated by  M-Moderator, Mark D. 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    California Tries to Close the Gap in Math
    by thx1138 - 03/22/24 03:43 AM
    Gifted kids in Illinois. Recommendations?
    by indigo - 03/20/24 05:41 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5