Lloyd Said:

can a social worker make a mental health diagnosis, and act upon it?

We Answered:

Yes she can. To guard the safety of children they are allowed to make unsubstantiated "guesses" and pray they are wrong. Your daughter was too tired to remember to lock the doors, that could be misconstrued as neglect. Social workers must take basic psychological courses. This, plus the advantage of on the job training, will give them a better idea to a possible problem than most. It's their job, you should look to help dispel this accusation by helping the social worker with all requests instead of ticking her off by pointing out her lack of scholastic prowess.

Barbara Said:

Has anyone had a child diagnosis with Kawasaki disease?

We Answered:

First of all....calm down. It may be fine. They may just want to do some more testing. Your son can tell that you are upset and therefore you will upset him. Babies are sensitive to these emotions.

Secondly.....Put your faith in GOD. He will take care of you. He won't ever give you more than you can handle. Just continue to pray for your son and ask GOD to guide the Doctors and You to do the right thing for your son.

It will all be ok. Email me if you would like to talk.

I will keep him in my prayers. God Bless

Melvin Said:

Two Q's; When you bring your sick child to Doctors and they have you see the nurse practitioner?

We Answered:

No

June Said:

Can you think of a short term health condition that a child may have?

We Answered:

Chickenpox is a good one as someone mentioned. But you can diagnose influenza. They swab your nasal passages and can tell you if its flu and even which strain you have, A or B.

You can also do croup, fifth's disease, mumps, measles, rubella. You can do otitis media (ear infection). Another one is meningitis, which is very interesting.

Harvey Said:

Please help me give a fictional mental health diagnosis?

We Answered:

Conduct disorder would fit best out of your two suggested (although it is possible your fictional client has a comorbid reactive attachment disorder, just to complicate things, lol). Remember, conduct disorder is often characterised as a juvenile version of adult personality disorders. Certainly the majority of behaviours described seem deliberate and in some way under the control of the child. He is able to exercise his will over what he does and does not do. And he had some obvious attitude issues.

Sorry if that doesn't make sense, was thinking out loud. Conduct disorder, for sure.

Carla Said:

Is it possible to not have a separate mental health diagnosis?

We Answered:

Yes. The diagnostic system has five axes: 1. Affective, thought disorder, "biological" diagnosis, PRINCIPAL PROBLEM that needs attention; 2. Personality disorder (secondary problems); 3. Medical/neurological issues; 4. Psychosocial stressors; and 5. Level of functioning (0-100). Each case has at least the first and fifth axis.

A person with substance abuse or substance dependence does fall under axis I criteria (I'M PRETTY SURE; check this out). There are separate criteria for both substance abuse and substance dependence as separate disorders. If your friend is being given a different diagnosis, it's possibly for insurance purposes, as the ones I mentioned might not be parity.

As for the abuse, it would probably fall under Axis I if there was Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Axis IV if it was causing significant trauma at present and had led to a dearth of healthy relationships.

So yes, it's easily possible -- but the DSM is a limited tool. It doesn't tell stories, or make extensive notes about history. These would be in medical documents and/or disclosed during therapy.

Hope this helps! I'm confusing myself...

Best of luck.