by Scott M Shannon, MD

A Holistic Child Psychiatrist Offers Practical Wisdom on Behavior, Brain Health, Nutrition, Exercise, Family Life, Peer Relationships, School Life, Trauma, Medication, and More

In the last decade, the number of diagnoses of major psychiatric conditions in kids, like ADHD, depression, and bipolar disorder, have skyrocketed. Can it really be that so many of our children are born with faulty brain chemistry? Or are we simply too willing to assign a diagnosis and medicate them? Dr. Shannon equips parents and caregivers with a better way to understand the mental health challenges their children face, including how cutting-edge scientific concepts like epigenetics and neuroplasticity mean new hope for overcoming them. Readers learn how the most common stressors in kids—inadequate nutrition, unaddressed trauma, learning problems, family relationships, and more—are often at the root of behavioral and emotional issues, and what steps can be taken to restore health and wholeness, without immediately turning medication.

“A tremendously important book. . . wonderfully clear and well written and easy to read and learn from.”—Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy

“A profound relief—and a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Dr. Shannon, for such a sound, practical, and effective solution to the overlabeling and overdrugging of today’s children.” —Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-Daughter Wisdomand Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

Contents: 1. Finding the Good News • 2. How Your Child’s Brain Grows • 3. Relationships and the Young Brain • 4. Feeding Your Child’s Brain for Emotional and Mental Health • 5. Environmental Causes of Disharmony in Our Kids • 6. The Family System and “Fit” • 7. School, Learning, and the Young Brain • 8. Understanding Trauma • 9.Parenting for “Wholeness” • Appendix One: The Most Common Psychiatric Labels Given to Children • Appendix Two: Glossary of Mental Health Therapies • Appendix Three: Glossary of Supplements • Appendix Four: Family Stress Index • Appendix Five: Wholeness Stress Index • Appendix 6: Trauma Questionnaire • Appendix Seven: Resources and Recommended Reading • Appendix Eight: Choosing a Practitioner

SCOTT SHANNON, MD, ABIHM, is assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado and past president of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. Board certified in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry and Integrative Holistic Medicine, he teaches health care professionals around the world how to approach children’s health and well-being holistically, without assuming pathology. He is the founder of the Wholeness Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, the largest and most comprehensive integrative mental health clinic in the U.S. (www.wholeness.com). Dr. Shannon is also the author of Mental Health for the Whole Child.