Excerpt from Chapter 9: Medications and Their Side Effects
This chapter will give you some basic information and understanding of medications currently used to treat children. The use of medication to improve emotional or behavioral symptoms is called psychopharmacological treatment, or pharmacotherapy. Usually the symptoms addressed are severe enough to interfere with normal daily functioning or are very distressing to your child......
Organization of Chapter 9
The first section of this chapter addresses three topics:
- how medications/chemicals affect behavior
- general guidelines for using medication with children
- side effects in general, and particularly with regard to medication.
I then discuss medications that are used for five categories of symptoms:
- inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and distractibility
- depression
- bipolar disorder and severe mood instability
- anxiety
- psychosis (schizophrenia, paranoia), and severe symptoms of mood, anxiety, aggression, and agitation.
For each category, I describe the kinds of medications used and explain common and concerning side effects. I encourage you to skim the material concerning the five categories of symptoms for the specific information you need on the medications your child is taking, or may take, to address his particular symptoms. At the end of the chapter, I explore some of the common questions and issues about medication treatment that crop up for parents. Topics include:
- Who is the best person to provide medication treatment for your child, and why?
- How do you decide to have your child take medication? Should your child take medication with, or instead of, psychotherapy?
- How do you tell whether medication is helping?
- How long will pharmacotherapy last?
- Will pharmacotherapy continue without psychotherapy?
More excerpts:
- From the Introduction
- From the Introduction to Section I, Parents' Interventions
- From Chapter 1: What to Do When You Think Your Child Has a Problem
- From Chapter 2: The Red Flags
- From Chapter 4: Ten Steps to Help Your Child Get Back on Track
- From Chapter 5: Coping with Your Feelings When Your Child Suffers
- From the Introduction to Section II: Professional Interventions
- From Chapter 6: Evaluation and Testing, Why, What, Who, and Where?
- From Chapter 7: Questions about the Helpers: Who Are They and Where Are They?
- From Chapter 8: Psychotherapy and Its Side Effects
- From Chapter 9: Medications and Their Side Effects
- From Chapter 11: The Role of Play in Individual Psychotherapy From Childhood to Adolescence
- From Chapter 12: Costs of Treatment: Money, Energy, and Time