Evidence-Based Treatment Modes for Treating Adolescent Males for Conduct Disorder - Annotated Bibliography Example

Evidence-Based Treatment Modes for Treating Adolescent Males for Conduct Disorder Introduction A mental disorder or illness is an anomaly that is characterized by disability, and is not in the category of normal human growth. It is a psychological pattern that makes one look abnormal of mentally insane. Mental disorder is associated with certain parts or regions of the brain that cause a person who has the illness to act in certain ways in terms of his feelings, actions and perceptive. People have understood and recognized mental disability differently over time and the definitions about what mental disorders are is different particularly among certain cultures (Farrell, 2010).  Apart from being associated with certain regions and functions of the brain or the nervous system, the causes for mental disorders vary and theories about what causes mental disorders vary across communities. People suffering from mental disorders are placed in psychiatric hospitals where psychologists and psychiatrics use certain methods to observe their behaviour. Treatments are done by mental health professionals. Some of the causes of mental illness may include abuse, neglect, social problems and stress or even certain life experiences. Other causes might be environmental like complications during birth or even injury to the brain causing trauma that leads to development of certain mental disorders. When treating individuals with mental disorders, psychiatrists have an aim to provide the correct medical diagnosis to cure or reduce the level of illness. They look at the symptoms and signs that can be associated with certain mental disorders. Some of the symptoms may include lacking the basic activities that are linked to living like health care, dressing, accommodation, lack of proper communication skills or none at all, and lack of occupational functionality like in the workplace. Such symptoms are what psychiatrists look at so that they can make proper diagnostics that will help the individual. Majority of health problems are treated by trusted members, like family physicians, but this is mostly the case where the case is acute or chronic. Psychotherapy treatment involves certain types of treatment namely; Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and is concerned with the patterns and behaviour of certain disorders and how to treat them, Psychoanalysis which is concerned with psychic tendencies, Systematic therapy which is also known as family therapy. Medication may vary depending on the individual disorder that a person has (Farrell, 2010).  Antidepressants are often used for a variety of disorders. It is also the recommended treatment in clinical depression. Anxiolytics, which also include sedative, are used to treat anxiety disorders and problems related to such like insomnia. Bipolar disorders are treated by mood stabilizers, while psychotic disorders are treated by antipsychotics. Having the medication to mental disorders does not guarantee that there is a chance of containing the illness as there can be certain effects of medication when the wrong diagnosis is made and thus, the wrong medication is given. I have been working in a for a certain community mental health agency and have made certain observations about mental disorders. The mental health agency serves male adolescents who are aged 14-16 and certain practices have been used to treat them. These treatments have been able to treat personality disorders such as paranoia, eccentric, antisocialism, dependency and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. Personality disorders are mostly associated with childhood or adolescence. The changes that occur during this period may cause certain changes o effects to adolescent’s thus mental disorders. Matson, J. L., Andrasik, F., & Matson, M. L. (2009). Treating childhood Psychopathology and developmental disabilities. New York: Springer. The book discusses how treatment of such is mostly successful if treated early since such problems tend to be developmental and might lead to a more fully blown case when left without treatment. Treatment includes evaluation of parent-child interactions and also teacher-child interactions since, and this is critical since most problems arise within such grounds. Matson’s and Andrasik show how relationship between the child and those involved in his or her developmental stages has to be first looked into since these are the people in the adolescent’s life who interact with them on a daily basis. Poor relationships with peers and family members also trigger such behaviour (Matson, Andrasik, & Matson, 2009). In the book, the authors show how certain models that can be used to treat mental disorders, which include multisystematic therapy, family behavioural therapy, individual cognitive problem solving, cognitive behaviour therapy, family psycho education, and community reinforcement approach. These modes of treatment have proven to be successful in maintaining the illness among adolescents. Lastly, the book shows how they focus on the social aspects of behaviour, developing self-control, interaction and change in times of crisis, coordination and overall participation of adolescents with such mental disorders (Matson, Andrasik, & Matson, 2009). Farrell, C. (2010). Mental disorders. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Farrel, in his book describes conduct disorder as a mental health difficulty that is in children and adolescents. Is involves certain behaviours like being defiant and antisocial, having the need to steal, running away from home, physical violence, and sexually coercive behaviours. Conflict occurs with parents, teachers, peers and this may escalate to a level that will lead to damage of property and most likely physical injury of the patient. He further states that conduct disorder may be categorized by into four main classifications namely; aggression (mostly towards people and in some cases animals), destruction of property (without the aggression towards people or animals), being deceitful and stealing, and lastly violating certain rules or laws (Farrell, 2010).  The book further highlights that adolescents with such behaviour have difficulty in concentrating in their studies thus are not able to perform well in school. Their academic performance is directly influenced by their behaviour. Also, adolescents who are diagnosed with conduct disorder are more likely to use or be using alcohol or other related drugs. Treatment of such behaviour includes epidemiology and etiology (Farrell, 2010). Finally, the book states how using these two will lead to better assessments since they help psychiatrists understand the nature of the disorder(s). Handbook of evidence-based practice in clinical psychology: 1. (2012). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. This book gives certain practices that have been used to treat mental disorders and they have proven to be effective. The book offers certain attention has been focused on adolescents’ patterns and certain outcomes. Adolescents with mental disorders tend to have a prior start use of substances often. Also, there is prolonged use of the substance. Adolescents also have problems with family, school and also have legal problems. Behaviours include aggression, hyperactivity, irritability, pessimism and depressive outbursts. The book provides principles that can be used, for example, building a stable correlation with family and relatives, motivation and monitoring, psycho education for parents, prevention of peer group influences and using developmental content while treating patients. The book also offers various treatment plans that have been tested and proven and have shown considerably great results. It talks about the clinical practices that ought to be implemented to get the desired results. Most important of all is focusing on the adolescents’ individual relationship with parents, teachers and the peers of the adolescent. Murrihy, R. C., Kidman, A. D., & Ollendick, T. H. (2010). Clinical handbook of assessing and treating conduct problems in youth. New York: Springer. The book offers insight on how developmental behaviour changes in children and adolescents when they are growing and also shows how these problems arise. Majority of the issues arise from the relationships that they have, and the book shows how these problems lead to serious mental illness if left without treatment. The book also shows how epidemiology and etiology are used to treat mental disorders. They deal with preventive approaches to intervention and theories that exist about mental illness, which include genetic predispositions, physiological influences and individual characteristics. Steele, R. G., Elkin, T. D., & Roberts, M. C. (2008). Handbook of evidence-based therapies for children and adolescents: Bridging science and practice. New York, NY: Springer. The book talks about different practices that have been successfully used and that have proven to be efficient. Some of the practices include; pharmacotherapy, cognitive problem-solving skills training that assist in healing conduct disorder among adolescents, parent management training, therapy that leads to a functional family and also multisystematic therapy. These modes of treatment have their strengths and weaknesses, but have achieved in treating adolescents with mental disorders. Conclusion Though society has judged and criticized people living with mental disorders, it has failed to note one thing; mental disability is a condition of the mind, and those who suffer from mental disabilities can be cured given the right diagnosis and treatment. Adolescent conduct disorder is complex to understand since at this stage the individual is at his developmental phase and many factors may influence the disorder such as family, environment and other ecological elements. With this, several issues have to be looked into so that a proper assessment of the disorder in order for proper treatment (Matson, Andrasik, & Matson, 2009) References Farrell, C. (2010). Mental disorders. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Handbook of evidence-based practice in clinical psychology: 1. (2012). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Matson, J. L., Andrasik, F., & Matson, M. L. (2009). Treating childhood Psychopathology and developmental disabilities. New York: Springer. Murrihy, R. C., Kidman, A. D., & Ollendick, T. H. (2010). Clinical handbook of Assessing and treating conduct problems in youth. New York: Springer. Steele, R. G., Elkin, T. D., & Roberts, M. C. (2008). Handbook of evidence-based Therapies for children and adolescents: Bridging science and practice. New York, NY: Springer. Read More