Pediatric psychiatric consultation can be necessary and is recommended in case of light, average or severe post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by children and this manifests itself in sleeping problems and mood swings, generalized anxiety disorder or even behavioral problems.

Contacted by IPN, Eugenia Dumitras, pediatric psychiatrist at the Mental Health Community Center that was recently opened in Centru district of Chisinau, said behavioral problems can appear when the children are influenced by mates from families where the parents have a criminal record or abuse alcohol or drugs. Sometimes the children are forced to steal money or precious things from homes, to buy cigarettes or alcohol and are terrorized into not telling their parents.

As a result, the children become isolated and start to have problems at school. They come into conflict with teachers and the parents, etc. In some cases, when the assistance of a psychiatrist is needed, the parents refuse psychiatric consultation and stigmatization is one of the reasons for this.

“Earlier, the psychiatrist could come to school for a prophylactic examination of the class. Now any psychiatrist intervention is possible only with the consent of parents. Sometimes the situation can get out of control and the child remains with the problem until adolescence or maturity, when there are other institutions that should offer assistance,” stated Eugenia Dumitras.

She also said there are also disorders that require the continuous surveillance of the specialist doctor. Among these are mental retardation, schizophrenia, mood and personality disorders and autism. Autism is now detected more often owing to more active monitoring. If a parent informs the family doctor about particular problems, this recommends consulting a pediatric psychiatrist. The prescribed treatment is received only with the parent’s consent.