`Treat kids with mental problem early`

An integrated psychological treatment program for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the first step to prevent them from developing long-term disorders, experts said yesterday.

"The most urgent task is to go forward with psychological treatment for those with ADHD, the most common mental disorder among children, at an early stage. For adults, criminal profiling or an immediate investigation are important right after they commit any crime," said Choi Sang-sub, head of the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, which is affiliated with the Justice Ministry.

To commemorate the Mental Health Day, which falls on April 4 every year, about 300 mental health experts took part in an event in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, which was jointly hosted by the provincial government and the Gongju National Hospital.

"Children who suffer from abnormal brain development are likely to face emotional problems because they have a harder time adjusting to their circumstances," said Lee Jae-won of the Gongju National Hospital.

"If those children are situated in an atmosphere of apathy or abuse, they become unconfident, depressed, impulsive and anxious in whatever they do," Lee said. "They tend to be offensive to others, making up lies and taking others` possessions without guilt because they think everyone else except themselves are happy."

Experts, however, pointed out that societal problems are likely to surface since support is weak for those with disorders.

"Criminals with mental disorders are put in the same category with ordinary criminals, which indicates that they return to society without any follow-up measures after they serve their jail terms," Choi said.

Psychopaths are defined as people who are cynical, aggressive and feel no pity for what they have done wrong.

"A psychopath can never be made to feel the horror of murder. Weeks of intense therapy, which are producing real breakthroughs in other youths, will probably make a psychopath more likely to reoffend. Psychopaths are not like the rest of us, and everyone who studies them agrees they should not be treated as if they were," according to Robert Hercz, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

By Cho Ji-hyun

(sharon@heraldm.com)

[출처 : 코리아헤럴드]