An editorial in the Boston Globe discusses the growing backlash against putting children on psychiatric medication. The main point is that despite the risks, medication for children with psychological problems can be an effective treatment. What I hope is happening on a larger scale is that people are grappling with the philosophical question of what constitutes “mental illness” and how we treat it.

Medication for children who are suffering problems because of turbulant family environments or poor coping skills can alleviate symptoms, but the larger problems remain. It is my hope that people in many of these situations can view the psychological problems of their youngsters as red flags about parenting, family and social environments, and other developmental issues that can be corrected, even if they elect to have medication be part of the treatment.

Comments

This post currently has one comment. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.

Trackbacks

No trackbacks yet to this post.

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 23 Jun 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.