Mood Disorders – Depression, Anxiety

Along with so many complex chronic diseases like autism, ADHD and the allergic triad of asthma, allergies and eczema, mental health issues among our youth are on the rapid rise. We must remember that neurologic problems and mental health issues do not happen in a vacuum. Unlike traditional psychiatry that simply treats mental health issues on the symptomatic level in a one-size-fits-all way and through a trial and error method to the medicines they use, a holistic approach attempts to find potential underlying imbalances that may be addressed first before resorting to medicines.

We must spend time to look into any possible underlying nutritional deficiencies, metabolic excesses, toxins, and lifestyle considerations that may be affecting the child’s mental health.  This can be done through a number of tests to evaluate these issues more fully. For example, macro/micronutient testing, metabolic testing using an OAT (Organic Acids Test), cortisol (stress hormone) and metal/toxin testing are all commonly done.

In addition, we have even more focused testing into the metabolites and genetic susceptibilities that could influence mental heath “neurotransmitters.” Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that your brain uses to communicate and when these are imbalanced, can result in clinical symptoms like depression, anxiety, ADHD, and so on.

By performing neurotransmitter testing and methylgenetic testing/ nutrigenomic analysis, we can look at minor genetic variants that may be influencing your child’s ability to create the various neurotransmitters.  Rather than simply guessing, we test those using simple urine or saliva tests to see what combination of supplements can help bring these various neurotransmitters into better balance.

Indeed, the combination of all of these tools is a very exciting prospect. With these, we able to better assess and address the underlying issues in your child’s health that are manifesting as neurologic or psychiatric disease. This is the beauty of functional pediatric care. We can blend the best of all the resources available to us for the good of your child.