Experience with Doctors and reporting/documenting self harming minors?

[welsummerchicks]

So my guess would be, that if a child is already on psychiatric medication, it is highly unlikely that self-harming has gone unnoticed. In other words, I'm not getting whole story. That's what I had the feeling was going on.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Yep..
Sounds that way to me..

 

[WriterofWords]

Quote:
That's not necessarily true. It would depend what psychotropic drug he was on and why. Some of the side-effects of those medications are tendencies to act out of character, hurt yourself, extreme depression, etc. He could be on an anti-depressant, and cutting himself on the side without being caught if that is not what is looked for at the Drs. Depending on where a person is cutting themselves it's not hard to hide.

 

[redhen]

Well right .. if the kid is hiding it VERY well.. then yes, there can be times noone notices it. Kids are good at hiding things like that..

But usually those types of kids are monitored pretty closely... or they are supposed to be anyways..

And all that kids "team".., medical doctor, family, school teachers, school counselors, and therapists are notified to keep an eye out for ANY marks on the child and report it.
Usually, if its reported, the child is also brought directly to a medical doctor for an exam also.
This has MY experience with these kids..
I think every state is different, maybe?

ETA: I've also had kids that were required to go to the doctors every so often for an "exam"... just in case they were hiding marks on themselves..

 

[WriterofWords]

Laws and circumstances vary from state to state. Not knowing the situation here all we can do is toss around ideas.

 

[dutchhollow]

report it, if there are marks on a child, doesn't matter what they say happened just tell someone about it.

 

[WriterofWords]

Quote:
ALWAYS!

 

[welsummerchicks]

"all we can do is toss around ideas'.

Yes I know, but that was what I was hoping for, nothing more.

 

[wegotchickens]

A cutter who doesn't want to get caught cuts high on their thighs and other places that aren't seen.

A psychiatrist can be fooled by someone who lies skillfully into not seeing there are real dangers of self-inflicted trauma or death on the horizon.

Meds won't help a case like that, especially if the child isn't cooperating with counseling but just going because they have to.

If you have a gut feeling that something is really wrong, talk to someone about what you've observed.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Yep..