Talking with Children About the Connecticut School Shootings

All over the country people are horrified at the shootings that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy.  While many facts of the shooting remain to be learned, tonight millions of parents will do their best to try and talk to their children about what happened.  […]

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Genes for Responsiveness to Parenting Practices?

In classic models of psychiatric risk, particular child characteristics are seen as generally negative things that under the wrong conditions can get amplified  into full-fledged psychiatric disorders.  A newer model, however, holds that some of these characteristics are better understood as related to environmental sensitivity, which means that in positive environments these same traits may convey an actual developmental advantage. A […]

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New DSM5 Diagnosis of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Under Scrutiny

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is a new entity coming to DSM5 in May 2013 that describes children with noncyclic but frequent and severe outbursts along with a chronically irritable mood.  The diagnosis was built to capture many children who have previously been diagnosed with entities such as Bipolar Disorder. The disorder remains controversial and this […]

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