YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

My daughter was diagnosed with depression at age 12. She's 16 now and is sure that depression is no longer the correct diagnosis. Is it appropriate to ask her psychiatrist for a new diagnosis? Would I make a diagnostic appointment instead of the normal maintenance appointment, or just bring it up during a normal appointment?

(Not a professional, but a lifelong patient, so consider the source.)

Yes, you can absolutely ask for a new assessment. I would imagine that a diagnosis of someone at 12 is highly susceptible to being temporary, given how hormones figure into various diagnoses.

The only caveat I can think of is what your insurance will cover. I don't know that insurance companies cover diagnostic appointments differently than maintenance appointments (though I wouldn't be surprised to find they do), so it may be worth checking out.

Would you go to the same therapist or try a second opinion?

(Not a professional)

It would be completely appropriate to bring this up with your daughter's psychiatrist. I just went through the assessment process myself after my psychiatrist brought up the idea during one of our regular check-ins. She wasn't qualified to do the assessment for the particular issues she thought I might have, but I found a psych team that assessed me.

So yes, bring it up at a regular check-in appointment and go from there.

Also, I'm so glad you care enough about your daughter to be going through this process with her.

Ditto what Stina says. It's so amazing that you are trying to help your daughter. It sounds so obvious when I word it that way but it apparently isn't. I can't imagine how difficult it is to be a parent let alone one with mental illness, but you're awesome for trying.

Hi there,
I am both a licensed mental health professional of over 11 years, AND a patient with over 20 years of experience.

It would be more than appropriate for you to ask your daughter's therapist and/or med provider for further diagnostic clarification. You can bring your concerns and new symptoms to your provider during a regular session and my hope is that they would be willing to either carry out further diagnostic evaluation of symptoms and changes or can refer you to an appropriate agency/facility/person to carry out psychological testing to confirm or rule out certain diagnoses. I work part-time at a community agency and I am not able to to diagnose autism on my own without testing (I can have it as a rule out) and certain diagnoses carry larger weight (ADHD) if there is testing behind them.

A diagnosis can change over time and every therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist should understand that. As your daughter was 12 years old, her symptoms are likely to change over time before they solidify more when she is like in her 30s. Many mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia tend to "rear their ugly heads" in late adolescents/early adulthood. Her symptoms could also easily evolve due to different pressures and expectations (which change throughout time). Changes in hormones (puberty) tend to cause significant changes in symptoms. So it is realistic that her symptoms would have changed since she was 12, as she's likely hit puberty since then.

If you are comfortable with your current provider(s), I would just approach them about your concerns. If you've done that and still feel unheard, I would advise a 2nd opinion, which your insurance company should pay for.