State of the Evidence for Use of Psychotropic Medications in School-Age Youth

Abstract

Psychotropic medications are commonly prescribed to school-aged youth for the management of mental health concerns. This paper describes the current state of evidence for psychotropic medications in school-aged youth. More specifically, the following sections summarize relevant medication research trials and practice parameters pertaining to psychotropic medication prescribing as well as the specific medications indicated for a range of commonly presenting disorders and symptom clusters in school-aged youth. For each of these disorders and symptom clusters, key findings pertaining to the current state of science and practice are highlighted for the purpose of offering patients, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers with nuanced considerations for the role of psychopharmacology within the context of a larger “whole-child” approach to care that relies on the collaboration of providers and services across systems of care to promote optimal child and family health and wellness. The paper concludes with a discussion about supporting the use of medication treatments in schools, including considerations for ensuring effective family-school-health system collaboration to best meet youth mental health needs.

Cultural Diversity and Psychotherapy

“…We now accept psychotherapy as an equal partner to pharmacotherapy in the treatment of children, with meta-analyses and available studies finding both equivalent for many conditions and the combination superior to either alone. 1,2,3 The origins of Western child and adolescent psychotherapy can be found in the case report of "Little Hans," where Freud supervised the father in rendering psychological therapy of Little Hans, yet later disavowed that children could manage psychoanalysis in the way he practiced it. It took his daughter Anna Freud, an educator, and many others who followed, to develop child-oriented psychotherapy techniques.…”