The New York Times (12/13, Richtel, Trofort) reports, “The shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists is most acute in low-income communities of color, according to a study published in” November in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. This “lack of specialized and long-term care has contributed to poor teens of color being underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed.” For these teens, “such a misdiagnosis can be a fork in the road, leading to the wrong care, improper medication, school detention or misperception by a justice system that is inclined to view adolescents labeled hostile as inherently threatening.” The article focuses on Sarah Vinson, MD, Interim Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, who, three years ago, “assumed leadership of a weekly clinic that provides psychiatric care for teenagers of color.”
Related Links:
— “‘Disruptive,’ or Depressed? Psychiatrists Reach Out to Teens of Color “Matt Richtel, The New York Times, December 13, 2022