This book is a comprehensive guide to pediatric psychopharmacology, detailing medications used to treat a wide variety of childhood and adolescent mental illnesses. Childhood and adolescence represent critically important life stages in cognitive, social, and emotional development. Unfortunately, the prevalence of mental illness has been growing over the last several decades, especially among children. It is estimated that suicide is the second most common cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the United States. A crucial component of evidence-based mental health treatment of youth consists of careful, sophisticated, and compassionate medication treatment.
This guide is divided into 18 chapters, with most covering the medications used to treat a specific disorder or group of disorders. Chapters comprehensively cover each medication's history, FDA indication status and context, representation in the media, mechanism, extent of usage and research, and quality of evidence supporting its efficacy and safety. Chapters also cover approaches clinicians can use to discuss medications with patients—including alternative treatment options and integrating patient-level variables when choosing a medication. This book focuses on understanding patient and family perspectives on medication with suggested clinician responses to better communicate about prescription management. Chapters also include tables and figures, list resources and guidelines, and discuss controversies in the media. All prescribers to children and adolescents will find Pediatric Psychopharmacology Evidence to be a timely, comprehensive, and compassionate guide to the pharmacological treatment of young patients with mental illness.