CHILD GUIDANCE CLINIC
Child guidance clinic (CGC) is a specialized health service, based on an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to deal with the behavioral and developmental problems of children and adolescents, who are not fully adjusted to their environment.
The first child guidance clinic was started in Chicago in 1909.Objectives: CGCs aim: (a) to identify children with developmental and behavioral problems, (b) to provide comprehensive management for these problems with a teach-approach, (c) to provide appropriate guidance, counseling and support to the parents and family, and
(d) to refer children who need specialized services, if required.
Target problems: Individual problems attended in CGC usually include developmental delay, learning disorders, habit disorders, personality disorder, psychosomatic disorders, antisocial behavior and established psychiatric disorders, e.g. autism and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders (ADHD).
Approach: Child guidance is a team-work comprising of psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, educational psychologist, psychiatric social worker, pediatrician, public health nurses, speech therapist, occupational therapist and a neurologist. The psychiatrist is the most important member of the team who, with others, arrives at a diagnosis and formulates the management plan.
Pediatrician is usually the first contact point for children with behavioral problems and his/her role is crucial in identification of problem, exclusion and treatment of physical causes and timely referral to the child guidance clinic.
Activities: Important functions of CGC include: (a) evaluation of new cases, (b) follow-up of old cases, (c) behavioral interventions including group therapy, play therapy and psychotherapy, (d) parental counseling and support for home management, (e) training and research in the field of behavioral and developmental disorders.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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