Mental Health: Family Doctors Treat 1 In 3 Kids With Emotional Disorders

Many children dealing with mental health issues will only be treated by pediatricians or primary care physicians, according to recent findings published in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers found that as many as one in three American children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and other mental health problems will not receive help from a psychiatrist or counselor.

While about 11 percent of children under the age of 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), less than half of them receive the recommended care, including medication and therapy.

In this recent study, researchers examined the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey's data on 43,000 children and youth 2 to 21 years old. The subjects in the study had been checked by medical professionals regarding mental health care in an outpatient basis from 2008 to 2011. The study specifically focused on who was administering treatment--not the outcomes. Findings revealed that primary care doctors played a huge part of both diagnosing and treating children's mental health conditions.

As many as 34.8 percent of kids seeking outpatient mental health care only saw a primary care physician, while 26 percent went to psychiatrists. Another 15.2 percent saw psychologists or social workers.

"These trends underscore the importance of collaboration between primary care physicians and psychiatrists to help ensure provision of high quality outpatient mental healthcare," researchers concluded. 

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