Pediatric Psychology with a Postmodern Twist

Abstract

Working collaboratively with children, families, health care professionals and other systems of care in order to help children who may have one or more of a wide range of chronic or acute illnesses or developmental disorders is one of many challenges facing pediatric psychologists and mental health practitioners from a variety of backgrounds who work in healthcare settings with and/or on behalf of children. Guiding ideas of postmodern therapies, along with knowledge of child development and familiarity with neurologically- and physiologically-based disorders, together, can provide a helpful framework for pediatric and family practitioners in their clinical work with, and on behalf of, children. Three case vignettes are provided to elucidate the concepts presented. The clinical work described here took place within the framework of outpatient services offered by the department of pediatric psychology in a large children’s medical hospital. Pediatric psychology is a field of study dedicated to exploring relationships among health, illness and behavior in children and youth and their families. These interests are not exclusive to pediatric psychologists. Other medical, allied health and mental health professionals, including developmental pediatricians, pediatric nurses, social workers, marital and family therapists (MFT’s), medical family therapists, recreational therapists, music and art therapists and counselors embrace similar interests and focus of work. As a specialized field, pediatric psychology is still a relatively young discipline, founded in 1968 (Seagull, 2000; Mullins, Hartman, Chaney, Balderon, & Hoff, 2003). The vast majority of pediatric psychologists identify themselves as utilizing a behavioral or cognitive-behavioral orientation to treatment (Mullins et al., 2003). While there is, within the field of pediatric psychology, widespread recognition of the importance of family approaches and of system-level thinking, this recog