Psychologist on child anxiety, ADHD, autism - and the role of nutrition
By the time many children and young adults walk into Dr Nicole Beurkens’ treatment center, they’ve already been given “almost every psychiatric label out there,” she told me.
Dr Beurkens told me 54% of US children have some form of chronic health condition
Parents reel off lists of diagnoses from other doctors; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Bipolar disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and more.
“I say, ‘Okay, stop. That doesn't tell me anything about who your child is. Let's just dig into who your child is and take all those labels off’.”
Dr Nicole Beurkens’ skill set benefits from a doctorate in clinical psychology, a master’s of science in nutrition and integrative health, plus both bachelor and master degrees in special education
It’s not that Dr Beurkens is against formal diagnoses - rather, her approach to helping children and families is unique to other psychologists. Her skill set benefits from a doctorate in clinical psychology, a master’s of science in nutrition and integrative health, plus both bachelor and master degrees in special education - making her one of the few psychologists in the world to approach child behavioral issues in the integrative way that she does.
“So often when we talk about things like mental health - or mental illness - which is a term I don't like, the framework is one of ‘there's something wrong with this child,’ or ‘there's something deficient or defective or ill about them’,” she told me.
With her young adult patients, she reassures them: “Those are names that have been given to things you've experienced, but those aren't you, they don't define you, and most importantly they don't define your future or where you're headed in life.”
Until I interviewed Dr Beurkens for healthHackers episode 53, I wasn't aware of the extent of mental health issues in the USA among young people. More than 54% of children have some form of chronic health condition whether that's physical; like allergies, asthma, diabetes, or a mental health condition like anxiety, autism, learning disabilities and more, she explained to me.
“These numbers are increasing. And it really begs the question of what's going on with that, that we have so many more kids with so many more significant issues?” she said.
In the mid-1990s when Dr Beurkens started working in her field, she said “about one in several hundred children” were diagnosed on the autism spectrum. “Now we know that it's one in 50-something.”
Additionally: “Over 10% of school-aged children end up with a diagnosis of ADHD. That just was not something that happened 15 years ago.”
Although Dr Beurkens saw some children succeed with medication - she said they would often plateau, leading her to look at lifestyle factors instead
After training in traditional clinical psychology, Dr Beurkens described how she soon noticed a pattern that many of her child patients had limited diets. While they made some success with medication - they would often plateau. It spurred her on to look at the other facets affecting a child that contribute to their mental health.
“Children are just a representation and a mirroring back of their environment and the things going on around them,” she said.
Dr Beurkens does not oppose all medication for mental health challenges, but points out that long term drug benefits and side effects have “absolutely not been researched in children” and sometimes, with antidepressants in particular - “placebo pills work better.“
“Let’s just dig into who your child is and take all those labels off”
At her center in Michigan, where she leads a team of clinicians, drugs are never the first line of treatment. Instead, Dr Beurkens begins by giving parents a “safe place” where they can better understand what’s going on with their child “because so often, they have not received good information about why it is that the child is having these issues,” she told me.
Then she looks at reducing stress within the family, changing unhelpful mindsets and taking a thorough history of the child’s experiences along with his or her sleep patterns.
“We have studies now that show that up to 40% of kids diagnosed with ADHD actually have an undiagnosed and untreated sleep problem,” she said.
Dr Beurkens points out that long term drug benefits and side effects have “absolutely not been researched in children”
Diet and nutrition status are other key factors.
“We have research across the board showing that the quality of diet matters when we consume more whole foods, things like meats, fish, nuts, whole grains and produce, fruits and vegetables as opposed to a diet high in processed sugar and chemical-filled foods.”
Dr Beurkens encourages nutrient dense meals for children, focusing on protein and healthy fats
While I listen to Dr Beurkens, I can relate to her advice on a personal level. When I was a teenager, at least two practitioners linked my debilitating anxiety to fluctuating blood sugar levels (specifically, the sharp drop in blood glucose after a sugary snack or meal). It resulted in a major dietary shift for my family and I in the late 1990s. We knew barely anything about possible associations between food and brain health.
When moms and dads replace their child’s breakfasts of sugary pastries, breakfast cereals and flavored milks with nutrient dense meals focused on protein and healthy fat, Dr Beurkens said she receives remarkable feedback, with parents telling her: “Wow, my child's focus was better. Wow, my child wasn't so irritable and disrespectful. Wow, the teacher is saying they're not bouncing off the walls.”
“And we're finding incredibly strong connections between gut microbiome imbalances and depression, autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD and all of these things,” she added, “which just adds further strength to this idea that our physical health, how we're eating, how we're fueling our brain and our body has a tremendous impact on how we feel, how we function and ultimately all of those mental health symptoms that we're dealing with.”
“We have studies now that show up to 40% of kids diagnosed with ADHD actually have an undiagnosed and untreated sleep problem”
“How we're fueling our brain and body has a tremendous impact on how we feel”
I asked Dr Beurkens what effect the COVID-19 pandemic will have on children’s mental and behavioral health. She’d already noted a major increase in anxiety disorders.
It turns out, there are positives to take from this era - especially when parents show good coping skills.
“If we approach it from the standpoint of ‘Yep, this is frustrating. This is anxiety provoking, this is hard. And we can get through this, we can build our resilience, we can handle these hard things’ - that messaging is key to helping kids develop resilience and manage their anxiety, not just now but as they move forward,” she told me.
“The message that I really want to give parents is: there's nothing about this situation that needs to cause irreparable harm.”
Follow Dr Beurkens’ social media posts on Instagram, listen to her podcast, checkout her website, or learn about her treatment center.
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