Troubled Teens Resources

Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADD, ADHD, and all of the other “disorders” that troubled teenagers are tagged with will continue to be challenged by those in and out of the psychiatric field. This presents the parent of such a teen with the arduous chore of carefully examining both sides of the conflict and seeking advice from more than one source when determining the route they wish to proceed with a teen diagnosed with any one disorder.

“With increasing international concern about the large number of children labeled with so-called psychiatric disorders and prescribed mind-altering drugs, even the pioneer of psychiatry’s billing bible and “godfather of ADHD,” Dr. Robert Spitzer, recently admitted that normal children are being inappropriately labeled by health care professionals. Spitzer, a Columbia University psychiatrist, told BBC2 that children experiencing perfectly normal signs of being happy and sad are being labeled as mentally ill. While admitting this, he stopped short of informing BBC viewers that there is no scientific evidence that any of the millions of children so diagnosed have any physical abnormality that justifies the diagnosis. Nor that because of this, psychiatrists cannot agree on who is sick and who is well. Yet despite this fallible “science,” worldwide sales of psychotropic drugs prescribed to treat “mental disorders,” including stimulants, antipsychotics and antidepressants, now exceed $80 billion annually.”
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Carol is a parent that opted out of a chemical solution, instead choosing to vigorously research alternative educational options for her at risk teen daughter.

“I interviewed staff at troubled teen boarding schools, brat camps and specialty schools. Andrea does beautifully if she is fully engaged. Her love of math and science seem to magically make her ADD disappear. I found a great private boarding school that basically prepares the budding scientist for college. Combined with her regular therapist teaching her how to manage her ADD and use it to her advantage, I think I really made the right choice. She is thriving now without any meds.”