Most parents ask me, “Do you take insurance?” My answer is always “No, I voluntarily refuse to be on any insurance panels.” After I explain my reasons for not taking insurance, most families understand completely.   The Effects of a Psychiatric Diagnosis on Children and Their Families   Health insurance benefits can only be used for the treatment of illness. This means that your therapist must give your children a formal psychiatric diagnosis before they can receive treatment. A psychiatric diagnosis can usually be made when children are in psychological distress, but many personal and life problems do not require a formal psychiatric diagnosis to be treated. Increasingly, diagnoses come back to haunt children and their families.    Many parents have found that using health insurance benefits for psychotherapy has actually cost them more money because, after making a claim, their premiums went up. This is despite overwhelming scientific evidence that therapy can improve general health and can reduce total medical bills and doctor utilization. Life and disability insurance applications have been held up or denied because of some psychiatric diagnoses. The very existence of psychiatric diagnoses creates a false impression that most children sail through life without serious problems and only the ill need help. This is just not true. Every child in our fast paced, highly stressful society can experience difficulties. This is normal. No child can be expected to automatically have the entire set of coping skills needed to navigate childhood.    Therapy helps children acquire skills they have not yet had a chance to develop. The system of psychiatric diagnoses is only one way of looking at human problems. Its biggest advantage is that it helps get health insurance benefits, an advantage that is waning. Psychiatric diagnoses do not usually describe issues in ways that help children actually solve their problems. Diagnoses should only guide treatment, not dictate it. Based on material provided by H. Corsover, 2002 & S. Christian, 2007           dr.pegdunnsnow@arttherapyforchildren.com Children's Corner: Art Therapy for Children