If you have a child or a teenager that seems to acting out in a repetitive and persistent pattern of negative behavior that is aggressive or intimidating, either by physical or emotional means, you may find that they have conduct disorder. Parents and others often describe the concerning behavior to our staff as “antisocial” actions or tendencies that get worse as the child ages.
For parents that are dealing with this we do have conduct disorder treatment that is effective in changing the behavior and helping to provide resources to the family.
Understanding Conduct Disorder
Conduct disorder is not uncommon within our younger patient population in El Paso, Texas at our mental health facility. The common symptoms that we see across the 4 subcategories of conduct disorder include:
• Aggression to people or animals
• Lack of empathy
• Bullying and intimidation
• Criminal activity including theft, sexual aggressive behavior or forcing sex,
• Fire setting and property destruction
• Shoplifting and theft
• Running away from home
• Truancy from school
These behaviors may start in childhood or when the youth is in his or her teenage years. This is a more common diagnosis with boys than girls, but it may just be the specific behaviors that are driving this number. We find that girls are more likely to shoplift, steal, run away and engage in high risk behaviors without aggression while boys with conduct disorder tend to be more aggressive and obvious about their behaviors.
The Effectiveness of Conduct Disorder Treatment
Conduct disorder treatment in our facility in El Paso, Texas starts with a full evaluation of the child or teen to determine if other mental health issues may be present. Then, based on the evaluation we will provide counseling services, behavioral support and family based interventions to create a holistic approach to the disorder.
Often a therapy known as Multisystemic treatment is used to create consistent support, boundaries and expectations across all settings, or systems, around the child or teen. Family therapy is also considered important as often the actions of the child or teen have created significant stress with the family unit.
We are able to provide these services as part of our conduct disorder treatment in El Paso, Texas to help the families in our communities that are dealing with this very challenging disorder.
