Management of encopresis in early adolescence in a medical-psychiatric unit.
The aim of this work is to present the role of a medical-psychiatric unit in the treatment of chronic resistant encopresis in adolescence as an effective alternative to the standard approach. Four case reports are presented. The integrative program is based on full patient cooperation and involves separating the patient from the family environment and the use of medical intervention combined with modified behavioral therapy and parental education and guidance. The patient is given full responsibility for the cure. The median full hospital stay for our patients was 2 weeks, and outcome in all cases was complete remission. This experience suggests that chronic resistant encopresis in adolescents requires a different approach from the standard because of the patient's developmental stage and the often hostile family dynamics. A medical-psychiatric setting provides an excellent management milieu and can lead to a dramatic improvement in this chronic disabling condition.
Fennig
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Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel.
Fennig
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D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004688:Encopresis / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D016896:Treatment Outcome