Ithink my 19 yr. old daughter may be bi-polar, can a mental health counselor effectively give her a diagnosis?
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The only people that can give a definite diagnosis are those who have training in mental health disorders, such as a psychologist, a counselor, or a psychiatrist can give a proper diagnosis.
I had one psychiatrist diagnose my son as bipolar, and the other as having Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Just removing the child from my husband's influence made a huge difference on his life and attitude. When you get 2 people with mental issues together, not good! Other than that, teenage years are high-stress. A counselor might be able to help.
Absolutely, take her straight away if your worried. Good luck.
Oh yeah... My sister is bi-polar... scary. Take her to a specialist... they can help =)
Bipolar disorder is very often misdiagnosed as depression, ADD, or any number of other mental conditions. If you have done research and feel your daughter displays the behaviors associated with bipolar disorder, make a note of the 'symptoms' you feel she exhibits and present them to her doctor. If you are able, find a psychiatrist who specializes in this area - the key being a psychiatrist, who can prescribe medication. Psychologists cannot.
Things can get tricky since she is 19 and legally an adult. Hopefully she will cooperate with you in her treatment and be open with you about her own thoughts, but be ready for some resistance. Depression is a much more socially accepted mental illness these days, and bipolar disorder can be harder to deal with in many ways.
Good luck!
Some resources:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bipolar...
http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section...
From what I have seen, the diagnosis of bi-polar is given about thirty or fourty times more often than it should. The old term for bi-polar was Manic-Depressive, This disease, or condition has certain characteristics. It involves the sugar/pleasure center in the brain being turned on in a habitual way by the pleasure one gains by thinking smart thoughts.
The true manic depressive has a certain "buzz" about them. I have met several. Most doctors havn' t the faintest clue as to how to observe this. They simply use a behavioral checklist. C'est la vie. (that's life)
I am bi polar. your family doctor can give her a test on that. then they will give you options as to what you can do.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bip...
Come join this group, if you want to ask parents with teens who are bipolar. It's an educated, caring group.
Your daughter needs to see a psychiatrist. She will need meds if she's BP, and a counselor cannot provide that.
And by the way, most professionals all give a different diagnosis. The important thing is the symptoms, and giving the right meds for those symptoms.
Do NOT let anyone prescribes SSRI's like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc. if you suspect bipolar!!!!
My son is 15 and BP. I have been thru it all at this point.
I would love to "see" you at the group.
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