I have chosen to write about the effects that antidepressants have on children and youth. This current issue is affecting many people right now and there are several views that groups have taken on this issue. This complex issue has no real right or wrong answer for the recent questions raised about the effectiveness and safety of antidepressants for children. I really do not know very much on the issue of the effects that antidepressants have on children, but my general opinion is the fewer drugs the better. I believe that in most cases, children should learn how to deal with their problems without the use of medication. One reason i feel this way is because i think that the more medications that people take, the more they put off actually getting to the root of their problems.

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I think that medications are just a temporary fix and are not a good way of dealing with your problems. Another reason i do not think that children should use antidepressants is that they will learn to become dependent on drugs as a way to solve their problems. I think that this could be a huge problem when they get older and do not know how to deal with some of life rsquo s more serious problems without the help of drugs.

A third reason i don rsquo t think children should use antidepressants is because it is impossible to know the effects that drugs have on individuals, both in the sort and long run. The effects of the drug could cause more problems in the future for the children. I grew up in a small town with a focus on art and a large part of the population was into the ldquo natural rdquo way of doing things.

This may be why i tend to think the fewer drugs the better and other methods might be more effective including yoga, acupuncture, or even just counseling. Both of these had pretty conservative values and beliefs and maybe the more conservative background is an influence on my opinions also. This may be one reason i think that new drugs are not necessarily better than the old ways of dealing with things.

After researching the issue of the effectiveness of antidepressants on children and youth, i have found several sources explaining various views on the issue. The first article i want to discuss, ldquo apa comments on new fda warning rdquo , tells how psychiatrists are concerned that the black box warning labels the fda has issued on antidepressants may affect the children that really need them most. Said, ldquo we restated our continued deep concern that a lsquo black box rsquo warning on antidepressants may have a chilling effect on appropriate prescribing for patients rdquo 1.

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In my first position i never really considered the children that are potentially benefiting from taking antidepressants. I was thinking more about the suicide risks involved with the medicine, rather than the suicides that the medicine may be preventing. However, after reading through this source i realized that these drugs really might help some kids. Riba says, in reference to a review of 15 clinical trials on more than 2,0 youths, ldquo since prescribing has become widespread, there has been a dramatic drop averaging 33% in rates of youth suicide in 15 countries rdquo 1. This really made me think about how antidepressants may make a positive change in severely depressed children. It seems clear based on information found in this source that some children rsquo s lives are actually being saved because of these drugs. This information forced me to revise my initial opinion to consider the children and youth who truly are benefiting from antidepressants.

The second article that influenced my views, ldquo facing the evidence: antidepressant treatment in children and adolescents rdquo , discusses the risks involved for children and youth who are prescribed antidepressants. This article tests some of the other information provided from the other sources. The information in this article is based on the research of the author jane garland. Garland says, ldquo in addition to their weak or nonexistent evidence of efficacy, ssris may have serious adverse effects on children. Although rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts are low in the ssri trials reviewed by regulatory agencies 2% 5% , observations in clinical trials and case reports indicate that up to 25% of children placed on ssris for any disorder will experience other psychiatric adverse effects including agitation, irritability and behavioural disinhibition rdquo 1. I also found some of this information alarming and somewhat contradictory to the information i found in ldquo apa comments on new fda warning rdquo. While writing my first reaction to the issue, i had no idea that antidepressants really might hold such dangerous risks for children.

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I found out that some researchers do not even believe that any antidepressants are very effective for treating childhood depression. Garland says, ldquo the disappointing reality is that antidepressant medications have minimal to no effectiveness in childhood depression beyond a placebo effect rdquo 2. It is difficult to know the truth, but this information makes it extremely important for proper diagnosis for children before they are put on antidepressants. I was surprised by the number of children who are on antidepressants and that the largest increase was for children who were in preschool. It is hard for me to believe that a large number of preschoolers are truly depressed.

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This supports my initial opinion that the effects of the antidepressants are not clear and there may be a lot of damage happening that doctors are unaware of and cannot determine. After reviewing the information in this article, i think it is important to limit the number of children on antidepressants to only those who really need them, not necessarily to all, as i felt in my first response. This is the idea that while certain antidepressants may benefit severely depressed children and youth, prescriptions are being given out too easily without proper diagnosis. In ldquo recognizing depression in children rdquo , kathryn murphy describes how an accurate diagnosis is important for full recovery and the importance of ldquo ruling out any medical condition that may be causing the symptoms rdquo 5.

Murphy also describes the importance of therapy for children saying, ldquo since long term patterns of thinking and feeling are not well established in children, therapy can be quite effective rdquo 50. Murphy is in favor of teaching therapy in combination with the drugs and says, ldquo their children rsquo s mental health depends not only on their life experiences mdash good and bad mdash but on how they learn to cope with them rdquo 1. I agree with her idea that only children who have undergone a psychiatric evaluation should be put on approved antidepressants 4. In my initial idea i didn rsquo t consider diagnosing children before putting them on medication. Murphy talks about how a full recovery requires a proper diagnosis and that therapy is very effective for children 5.