Faced with the chronic lack of practitioners and institutions, as well as the deterioration of the mental health of the youngest since the Covid-19 pandemic, many parents are struggling to find care for their suffering child.
“We will invest heavily in the physical and mental health of our children, as this is how we best prepare for the future.” If the promise of the Minister of Health, François Braun, during his vows, Monday, January 30, also concerns the mental health of the youngest, it is no coincidence. Professionals are constantly warning about the alarming situation of child psychiatry, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. Like the Defender of Rights, Claire Hédon, who pointed out, in a report published in November 2021, the lack of material and human resources. “In town, more than a dozen departments are totally devoid of liberal child psychiatrists”she pointed out.
And when child psychiatrists are present, they are sometimes overwhelmed. However, thousands of children and adolescents need regular support and treatment to treat their depression, their hyperactivity or even their eating disorders. Every day, families try, as best they can, to overcome these shortcomings. Franceinfo has collected six testimonies, while the preparatory work for the pediatric and child health conferences was launched in mid-January by the minister and their conclusions are expected in the spring.
Véronique, in Lyon: “Faced with teenagers who attempt suicide, my daughter is not a priority case”
Solène*’s nights stretch out, to the point of no longer being synonymous with rest, but with anxiety. Since November 2020, the 15-and-a-half-year-old girl can sleep up to 8 p.m., testifies her mother, Véronique. A worrying state, which led her to be hospitalized for several days in Lyon. Hypersomnia was identified. “The doctor who made this diagnosis recommended that she be followed by a child psychiatristrecalls the mother, because its pathology is known and can be cured.”
But none of the 40 specialists contacted by Véronique was able to receive her daughter. “They all tell me that in the face of teenagers who attempt suicide, my daughter is not a priority caseshe laments. And at the same time, I understand, I put myself in the shoes of other parents…” The mother of the family has compiled a file, which accompanies each new attempt to make an appointment.
From Lyon, she even extended her research to Paris, more than 450 km away. But she still can’t find a doctor for her daughter. “She feels like a zombieworries Véronique. Her situation has improved, because my daughter has taken it upon herself, but she is very afraid of relapsing.” For now, the teenager is taken care of by a private psychologist, “the first available on Doctolib”. But the latter is not specialized in the follow-up of children, nor in Solène’s pathology. “She listens to him, but where it sins, according to the doctors she has seen, is that it would take drug treatment”, underlines Véronique. However, unlike a child psychiatrist, a psychologist cannot prescribe medication. In the meantime, Solène fights every day to shorten her nights.
Lisa, in Loiret: “It will be very difficult to go up very regularly to Paris”
Lisa will never forget that day in December 2022 when Lucas*, her 5-year-old son, started talking about the sexual assault he had suffered from a 9-year-old neighbor while he was playing in his room with his little brother, 3-year-old Matéo. Since then, relates the mother of the family, the little boys are no longer the same. Agitated, Lucas tells what happened to him to anyone who will listen. Conversely, Matéo is walled in silence.
As soon as Lisa knew, she tried to act. “I called a dedicated toll-free number for this kind of situationshe says. The person on the phone told me that it was serious and that follow-up was needed for the little ones. So she calls a medico-psycho-pedagogical center (CMPP) of Loiret, so that his sons are taken care of as quickly as possible. MBut the waiting list is long.
For now Lucas “I’m fine, but we feel that it destabilizes the family unit”laments Lisa, who lets her son speak “as much as he wants”not to “bridging his word”. “That’s why I would like a professional to take care of him”by “fear” clumsy and aware that she cannot combine the two roles: mother and shrink. In the meantime, Lisa managed to find an appointment within an association in Paris that was recommended to her. But she knows “It will be very difficult to go up very regularly in Paris”.
Lucie, in the Yvelines: “We got support after two years of waiting”
It’s the beginning of the end of a long wait for Lucie* and her 8-year-old daughter Nina*. Lucie confides that she suffered physical and psychological violence from her ex-husband for years. Despite their separation in 2019, Nina still has to see her father every other weekend and half of the holidays. The girl’s mother fears that her ex-husband will be brutal towards her child and that she will hide it. Since the separation, the little one has been mute, says her mother, consumed with worry.
The less Nina talks, the more Lucie worries. For months, she says she waited for an appointment in CMPP, while being supported by Childhood Social Assistance (ASE) in her efforts. “I left messages on the answering machines of liberal child psychiatrists, while waiting for a response from the CMPP, but as it coincided with confinement, it was not the best time to try to have a child followed up”remembers the Francilienne.
“We finally got support in September 2022, after two years”, says Lucie, relieved. “During this wait, it was very difficult. While doing therapy on my own, I had to deal with it allshe sighs. We don’t get much help.” Her daughter now sees a child psychiatrist once every three weeks. “During the first sessions, she curled up in her chair and didn’t speak at all”remembers Lucia. Four months later, it is still “very beginning”, but Nina begins to indulge.
Philippe, in the Oise: “If we have to go on the road, we will do it”
It has been a year since Philippe and his family have felt peaceful. A year that Noé, 8 years old, diagnosed with high intellectual potential (HPI), with attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (OPD), became calm, thanks to treatment, says his father. A heavy, daily treatment, which requires a child psychiatric or neuropediatric follow-up.
Philippe has a time found a child psychiatrist in the Oise. “J‘took me three months to get him on the phone, and finally, by dint of calling, he offered me an appointment”, remembers the father of the family. The doctor was able to prescribe a suitable medicine for Noah. “Since he has been under treatment, Noé is no longer the same child. Before the start of his treatment, he was violent, had no boyfriend. We welcomed his first boyfriend last week. Before, he told us: ‘I will do nothing with my life, I am a psychopath.’ Last week he told us he dreamed of being an astronaut.”
But the follow-up ended abruptly, to the great displeasure of Philippe, who, despite countless attempts, still cannot find a new practitioner for his son.. “There is emergency, he insists, because Noé is very difficult to manage without his treatment.” So begins a treasure hunt. This liberal nurse activates his professional network in search of a child psychiatrist. He ends up finding the contact of a neuropediatrician in Paris. “If we have to do the road, we will do it.”
Laurence, in Morbihan: “We are talking about my son, not a file”
Laurence is helpless. Since the end of September 2022, her son Guillaume *, 16, has been on his fourth suicide attempt, she slips. Due to a lack of space available in a specialized structure in his department, he cannot be hospitalized. “He does nothing all day, he is out of school. He has a very heavy treatment, he has become a zombie”laments the mother of the family.
The day of his 16th birthday, the teenager was taken care of in an adult hospital, says his mother. “Patients were screaming, it was very impressive for him, Laurence remembers. I have a feeling he’s too young to be hospitalized with adults, but too old to be with teenagers. Before, there was a hospitalization cell for 16-25 year olds, but it no longer exists.
Since the beginning of December, Laurence has had no news from the reception structure which had promised a place for Guillaume in day hospitalization. In January, the teenager called the emergency room, because he had dark thoughts and felt in danger. He was hospitalized for a week in the pediatric emergency room, before being sent home, without a lasting solution, his mother laments. In the meantime, Laurence tirelessly revives the structure for Guillaume to be taken care of. “I called the second week of January, but was told that there were more urgent entriesshe gets annoyed. We’re talking about my son, not a file.”
Laure, near Toulouse: “I went part-time to take care of Lina”
Laure’s daughter is almost 14 years old. In the spring of 2021, in a difficult family context, Lina* lost her appetite and lost a lot of weight. Her mother warns her: if things don’t get better, they’ll go to the doctor. The young girl eats again, until the summer of 2022, when Laure leaves her husband. Since then, Lina has hardly eaten any more and practices excessive sport, testifies her mother. At the height of her illness, she weighed 33 kg for 1.59 m. “I called several specialists in private practice, but none were taking new patientsrecalls Laura. So I took the directory and called all the numbers within 30 km.
Laure obtained a follow-up for her daughter in a structure in Toulouse. The teenager sees a child psychiatrist every week and carries out medical examinations every 15 days, to check that her vital organs are working. Her heart rate is still low, as is her blood pressure, and she is no longer menstruating. The specialist who follows her recommends hospitalization for at least a month, but there are no more beds available, explains Laure.
This full-time care would be a relief for the mother. “I went part-time to take care of Lina, because it takes time and energy,” details the optician. “When she has her seizures, I take her in my arms, I put her to bed with a hot water bottle on her stomach, reassuring her”, at any time of day or night. “It’s very complicated to manage. In addition, you must not neglect your big sister. But clearly, I do what I can.” Today, Lina weighs 37 kg.
*The first names have been changed at the request of the persons concerned or their parents.