Adolescent Psychopharmacology

This first study inspected the effectiveness of a new unbiased intervention for reducing decision-making mistakes during the evaluation and diagnosis process of pediatric bipolar disorder. The study performed was random, and it was a controlled trial using a case vignette approach. The participants of this particular study were 137 mental health professionals working in different regions of the United States. Each mental health professional participating in this study had seven to eight years of experience.

Psychotropic medications, also referred to as psychiatric or psychotherapeutic medications, are used to treat psychiatric disorders, such as: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They have been used for many years and oftentimes come with dangerous side effects. The side effects that often occur in children taking these medications can include: fainting, blurred vision, vomiting, extreme weight gain, and even death ("Seroquel information,” n.d.). The use of psychotropic medication to treat mental disorders in children and adolescents is highly controversial because of ethical viewpoints (i.e. parents “drugging” their children to calm them down) and potentially

Parents and doctors are scared to give children who are depressed, antidepressants according to Richard Friedman in the article “Teenagers, Medication and Suicide.” The F.D.A. put out warnings on taking antidepressants. Out of the 90 percent of people who commit suicide, they could be diagnosed or could possibly be treated.

normalize the abnormal low levels of brain chemicals for those who suffer from MDD. On the

The DSM-5(2013) section on Bipolar and related disorders includes diagnoses for Bipolar I disorder, Bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, substance/medication induced bipolar and related disorder, bipolar and related disorder due to another medical condition, other specified bipolar and related disorder and unspecified bipolar and related disorder there is no classification for pediatric or early onset bipolar disorder. Though there is the following statement “the recognition that many individuals, particularly children and, to a lesser extent, adolescents, experience bipolar-like phenomenon that do not meet the criteria for bipolar I, bipolar II, or cyclothymic disorder is reflected in the availability of the other specified bipolar and related category. Indeed, specific criteria for a disorder involving short-duration hypomania are provided in Section III in the hope of encouraging further study of this disorder.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) . For DSM-5(2013) diagnosis purposes pediatric bipolar disorder would seem to fall under 296.89 Other Specified Bipolar and Related Disorders presentation 3 which is Hypomanic episode without prior major depressive episode. This presentation describes clients who have had one or more manic episodes but has not met the full criteria for a major depressive or manic episode. Fristad & MacPherson (2014) discuss that Bipolar disorder once was thought to be a disorder of adulthood but recently research has suggested

For an episode to be categorized as manic, the patients’ mood has been irritable or abnormally elevated for at least 1 week. A person must also exhibit at least 3 of the following symptoms (4 if the mood is only irritable): extreme feelings of personal greatness; a decreased need for sleep, marked talkativeness; distractibility; extreme focus on a goal-directed activity; reports of ‘racing’ thoughts or a flight of ideas; or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (i.e. sexual indiscretions or unintelligent business investments). As in the criteria for a depressed episode, the DSM-IV specifies that these symptoms should not be better explained as being a side effect of a drug or illness to qualify as a manic episode. These symptoms must interfere with the person’s normal functioning and must not meet the criteria for a mixed episode. As with adults, childhood-onset bipolar disorder has many faces. Children with Bipolar I Disorder have episodes of mania and episodes of depression, sometimes there are long periods of normal moods between episodes. Adults usually tend to have more depressed episodes than manic episodes. However, some children will have chronic mania (symptoms of mania lasting for long periods of time or marked by frequent recurrence) and seldom experience a depressed episode.

Bipolar disorder is an affliction that affects many Americans. Children who live with parents who have this disorder often are neglected. Children are often not able to have a voice within their homes. The quality of life, emotional stability and childhood necessities are impacted by children raised by bipolar parents.

When watching the film, I thought it showed very supported reasons why children and young teens shouldn’t be on powerful medications. While watching The Medicated Child many questions were brought to my attention. I think it’s hard to completely say if a child is bipolar or not. Especially, because the diagnostic and statistical manual(DSM) only shows symptoms for adults suffering from bipolar not children. Also, it can take months and even years to actually diagnose a person with full blown bipolar disorder. I think even if a child is showing clear text book symptoms of bipolar they shouldn’t be put on a huge amount of different medications. The reason being the medications have not been tested on children so the side effects are unknown.

Bipolar disorder is typically a condition that affects people in their late teens and early adulthood. It is usually not thought to affect a child but it is something that, if present at a young age, can seriously affect the way a child grows up. Bipolar disorder affects every aspect of a person’s life and is not as understood as it should be. Researchers are still looking for the cause of this illness and how it can be treated but overall it is a condition that many people are undereducated on and that is something I’m hoping this paper might be able to change for some.

Have you ever heard these words –hillbilly H, a-minus, red birds, Vitamin R, and roses? There is no question that we have heard some of these words. Yet, what is unexpected is they are all code words used by teens for prescription drugs (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016). Prescription drug abuse among teens has rapidly increased, and has become a public health concern. (Milner, Ham, & Zamboanga, 2014.) With many other issues going on in today’s world; there is a need to provide technological interventions to decrease the incidence of this issue. Prescription drug monitoring systems should be used to help with screening and monitoring patients who are prescribed high-risk medications. With the implementation of any new improvement plan, there are barriers and ways to overcome them. Primary care physicians struggle to screen and monitor adolescents that are at high-risk for prescription drug abuse, and implementing a system can help decrease abuse rates.

More specifically, wrongly diagnosing children with bipolar disorder has become the new trend which proves to be dangerous to children. There is self-help literature in the form of children’s books which highlight the symptoms found in children diagnosed with bipolar disease. These symptoms are the same symptoms doctors use to diagnose kids with bipolar disorder. Reading these books convinces parents that their child has bipolar disorder, which leads them to take their child to the doctors. Because bipolar disorder is the new trend, drug companies took this opportunity to persuade doctors to prescribe medication for this disorder. Doctors are now prescribing medication intended for adults to children, which in some cases may cause permanent damage or even death. Kaplan explains that many of the symptoms associated with bipolar disorder in children can be mistaken for symptoms of ADHD, ODD, or even normal child development (Kaplan p.56). The American Psychiatric Association is now requesting a more intense diagnosis be performed before taking any further

The onset of bipolar disorder is usually in late adolescence or early adulthood (7). It is possible for both children and adolescents to develop the disease as well. This usually happens when there is a family history for the disease. Children afflicted by bipolar disorder are usually more irritable and destructive during their manic states and are more prone to mixed states (9). It is even harder to diagnose bipolar disorder in children because it is often confused with other problems that occur at a younger age such as attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, major depression, or schizophrenia (9).

The readings that were required for the reflection paper on bipolar disorders in children spoke about the need to better define the diagnostic and research criteria for children showing early warning signs of bipolar disorder. These early warning signs are commonly referred to as early-onset bipolar disorders (EOBP). This is most definitely an area of study that I find myself rather conflicted. I am well aware that a diagnosis is paramount when health insurance is concerned. Children who clearly need medical or therapeutic intervention will benefit greatly from clearer guidelines to diagnosis of any disorder. Individuals with bipolar disorder have shown to be disruptive to home life and overall public safety and so it is clearly important to learn early warning signs that may help us to prevent serious issues down the road. However, I believe that sometimes a