I really had to swallow a couple of times when our hospital’s updated guidelines regarding patient files instructed that that 10-17 year olds can decide that their parents cannot obtain information about the minor’s health and treatment. I really ask: what developmental milestone is reached at age ten that makes such a child competent to…
Public discussion assumes repeatedly that adolescent mental disorders are constantly increasing. In fact, no such evidence is provided by epidemiological studies. Research among adolescent populations has not demonstrated systematic increasing trends in either internalizing or externalizing disorders. As to Finnish adolescents, some problem behaviours that on more severe end merge with diagnosable disorders, such as…
Sweden is close to Finland, geographically and culturally. The countries share a long common history, and nowadays the societies are similar in many regards, both being Nordic welfare countries. Despite this, in my field we have had astonishingly little exchanges. I have now, past month, done my best to remedy the lack of co-operation! Firstly,…
Not “tired but happy”, but happy and inspired: EFCAP Finland’s continuous professional education meeting successfully completed. Our topic this time was Adolescent immigrants as victims and perpetrators of crime. (www.efcap.fi ) This is most topical right now. Last year, as our share of the vastly increased numbers of asylum seekers, Finland faced a wave of…
I was invited to give a lecture on aggressive behaviours in children and adolescents. This is of course a topic we are constantly thinking about in our adolescent forensic unit, and I also focus a lot on it in my research work. I have a lot of material to share, so I set out to…
Where should such an adolescent be who is mainly truant from school and a threatening bully when present, acts violently, runs away, uses alcohol and whatever substances, has sex with adult partners? Add that this kid self-mutilates and overdoses? Threatens with suicide but belittles the threats when offered treatment? Steals, participates in fights, is suspected…
In the board of Division of Psychiatry we discussed today about recruitment. How could we improve recruitment of young doctors to psychiatry? I of course specify: to adolescent psychiatry. Myself I decided quite an early phase of my career that psychiatry will be my choice. I had really been thinking about orthopedics… not that I…
In the EFCAP congress in Porto (www.efcap2016.com), a lot of attention was dedicated to neurobiological deficits in children and adolescents with conduct disorder. Callous-unemotional personality traits already in childhood have for quite some time been associated with violent behaviours in childhood, adolescence and in adulthood, and it has been shown that conduct disordered kids with…
Unbelievable, but suddenly it is spring and only ten more days to the EFCAP congress in Porto. I am really looking forward to both the scientific program and of course also to visit Porto, where I have not been before. My team and I shall have an opportunity to discuss our work in the adolescent…
These days I have been reminded of my career milestones when people congratulated me in LInkedIn for my work anniversary: in the beginning of March 2009 I started to work as acting professor of adolescent psychiatry in University of Tampere, to be formally nominated in the position only a month later. This has been a…