Psychiatric medication in young children

Psychiatric medication in young children

I cam across this article recently from the New York Times. It discusses the case of a young boy who was started on an antipsychotic medication when he was 18 months old, and by the time he was three, he was on an antidepressant, antipsychotic, sleeping tablets, and something for ADD (presumably a stimulant).

Guarding a child’s best interests

National School Psychology Awareness Week takes place each year during the second week of November. This is a time set aside for efforts to promote awareness and understanding of the field of school psychology. So, who are school psychologists and what exactly do they do? To begin with, they are trained at the graduate level in the areas of both education and psychology. They use this training to help children in the areas of academics, social and behavioral relations. School psychologists do receive highly specialized training for working in educational settings, but in most cases they are not doctors and they are not licensed for private practice as a psychologist. School psychologists are trained to advocate for the best interests of children while also collaborating with parents, teachers and administrators. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on providing positive learning environments for children in school.

Guarding a child’s best interests

Who should prescribe psychiatric drugs?

Who should prescribe psychiatric drugs?

I love reading the Psychiatric Times . The long-form articles nearly always express cogent arguments about controversial subjects in the field, and the short-form pieces point out news items I might have otherwise missed.

Oregon shouldn't permit psychologists to prescribe medication

Under pressure from out-of-state interests, our Legislature is about to consider passage of Senate Bill 1046, enabling psychologists to prescribe medication. This bill would jeopardize the safety of our citizens while creating unnecessary costs. The work group proposing the bill held only five sessions, without public testimony. Remarkably, one member of the work group was from California (and required a temporary Oregon license to participate) and heads a distance-learning post-doctoral psychology training program in clinical psychopharmacology that stands to benefit from the bill's passage. I hope that the Legislature will defer judgment on such an important issue to a regular session during which full and open testimony can be offered.

More >> Oregon shouldn't permit psychologists to prescribe medication

Regulation of Psychotherapy: The Maresfield Report

Worth reading.

More >> Regulation of Psychotherapy: The Maresfield Report

"Prescription for Disaster" Trailer

Prescription for Disaster

Shortage Of Child And Adolescent Psychiatrists Reaches Crisis Point, USA

The shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists in the United States has reached the crisis level with 74181 practicing in a country with 73,675,6002 children and adolescents. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, about 20 percent of children and adolescents have a mental disorder with at least a mild functional impairment.3

Shortage Of Child And Adolescent Psychiatrists Reaches Crisis Point, USA

The Truth about Mental Health Disorders - Psychology

The Truth about Mental Disorders.

Dr. John Breeding, Ph.D. psychologist discusses how mental disorders are created by the American Psychiatric Association and listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders.

Disorders such as bipolar, ADHD, OCD, Anxiety Disorders, etc. are voted into existence by APA committees.

The underlying assumption of biological psychiatry is that mental illness is biologically based despite the fact that no solid science has been able to identify biological markers for mental illnesses.

Visit Dr. Breedings Website at
http://www.wildestcolts.com