I'm not a professional, but my son has been in treatment centers since the 2nd grade. And, I have found with him the best thing that I can do as a parent is be pro active with ALL the staff, ie; doctors, counselors, wrap-arounds, MHMR workers, etc. Getting them the infor they need. Making sure that I'm on the same page when working with him on a certian problem skill, etc. And, as far as how to go about finding out anything he won't let me in on, I advise them on how to best go about doing it. You might just need to let someone in on a session with some of these kids that is fresh out of school, on thier level, and let them start talking about thier journeys into thier "lifes" on the internet. It is almost an alterego kind of life for some of them. I've heard some of the kids around here talk about it, and they blow me away. They tell me things like "Mamma Gwen you should get a My Space, or Facebook, so we could really talk to you." It's like they can't talk to me unless I'm on the computer as well as if I'm in person. So, they are letting themselfs open for anyone who will listen to them on the computer, rather than in person. And, that's what I try and tell my kids. And, these are kids from church. So, no I'm not a professional, and I don't have a test, but if you let them just group talk about it with someone who really knows about it you'll find out all kinds of interesting things. And, get the parents to become more involved! Maybe they can find out more for you too.

JB-

I use a variant on the CAGE criteria, as often seen in EtOH screening. I call it SIGNS.

S: sleep cycle is advanced. Awake until late evening/early morning. Often sleeps in after a computer binge.
I: Interest is decreased for non-computer related activities.
G: Guilt. Tries to hide computer use using boss keys, window minimization, shredding files, deletion of cache, etc.
N: Nightmare/dreams. Intrusive dreams about computer use.
S: Social avoidance. Tends to avoid social Real relationships in favor of Virtual relationships.

As with CAGE, if one question hits a "positive" finding, I explore deeper. Otherwise, computer use is unlikely to be a problem

Hope this helps.

Jerald Block, MD
www.jeraldjblock.medem.com

Thank You Larry - but - if we waited until they (the kids) "bring up" something - nothing would get addressed. A kid attempts suicide, let's say, if we don't bring up the childhood abuse which is leading to the depression and the suicide attempt - it doesn't come up.

So - don't we, as professionals, have a responsiblity to "bring up" the subject of internet practice? I talk to them quite frankly about safe sex. Ought I not as well talk to them about their media use?

Is there anyone in mental health who has Intake questions that they ask kids regarding their media usage?

I work on an acute psychiatric unit with teens. What type of information should we, as mental health professionals, be asking of our kids who are admitted? We do all kinds of screens - sexual history screen - nutrition screen - violence screen - abuse screen etc. But, currently, we do not do any type of probing of the adolescents internet activities. What questions should we be asking? The kids talk all the time about their MySpace account and the way that they portray themselves on it - their parents are usually clueless - but we have an obligation, I believe, to educate them on media dangers.

Any advice on how to get our unit into the 21st century - and how to effectively screen our kids during the initial intake would be appreciated.