How do you treat disruptive mood dysregulation disorder?  

DMDD is quite an enigma. The whole concept of irritability, which transcends many diagnoses, is also interesting. DMDD was meant to avoid overdiagnosis of moody disruptive behavior as bipolar. Since many of those kids are not suffering from bipolar disorder, I thought it was a great move. Unfortunat...

Clinically, I have seen that patients who come to me with a diagnosis of DMDD may actually have ADHD/ODD, MDD, PTSD, or/and anxiety disorders. So I generally make sure that these other diagnoses are not missed before diagnosing DMDD. DMDD can be diagnosed with other disorders except for ODD (as most...

DMDD is a fairly new diagnosis in the DSM. It is under the cluster of depressive disorders and, in my opinion, should be under anxiety disorders or impulsive control disorders. DMDD is usually a response to frustration and feeling overwhelmed. DMDD is associated many times with an OCPD. Children an...

I conceptualize DMDD as a "waystation" diagnosis. Looking at the literature (and my own clinical experiences), most kids with DMDD have prior/underlying diagnoses (most commonly ADHD, ODD, trauma) and will develop other disorders in adulthood (often depression and anxiety). The stress diathesis mode...

DMDD or "temper tantrum disorder" has multiple potential causes. Whenever I treat young children, I look to see what family dynamics, school or daycare stresses, and internal conflicts may be present, while also looking to control symptoms with medications. Parents often need expert guidance in sett...