Medications For Teens?

[askmenot]

Hi all,
help please! I am a therapist who works with children and adults. Some of the children I work with have ptsd.
One young teen in particular is causing me concern. He is so anxious, so self-hating, so socially isolated that I find it almost impossible to reach him when he is in this place. He is reaching breaking point and nothing I have to offer seems to relieve his symptoms.
Now, I know from working with him that this is cyclical - but the cycles are getting closer together, and the relief periods shorter (maybe 10 days).
I know very little about medication for teenagers, indeed, I confess to being averse to any drug intervention for them generally. But in this case I am stumped.
Any advice or personal experiences that might help?

 

[void]

Askmenot,

When he is on the "good" side of the cycle what is he like? Does he have bi-polar or cyclothymia? Has he expressed suicidal ideations? Is he connected with a Psychiatrist to look at the biochemical side? What is the nature of his trauma?

Void :)

 

[Deleted member 541]

IMO this teen needs to be seen by a Psychiatrist or possibly place within a hospital setting for his issues. Most anti depressants have BLACK BOX warnings about children taking these types of meds. They are NOT recommended for children..

I hope that there is some way this kid can be reached, and shown that there is hope at the end of the day....

 

[tude]

It seems odd to me that you, as a professional, are seeking advise regarding a client from this website. It has been my experience that therapists consult their colleagues, especially when it comes to medication, in the treatment of their clients. I am inclined to say that this thread is professionally irresponsible and inappropriate. I would be appalled if my therapist consulted this Forum for medication advise for me!

tude

 

[linasmom]

I concur with Tude.

I'm really shocked that any therapist would come to this website and seek medication advice. Totally irresponsible and hard to believe.

 

[blue_eyed_angel]

I am really in shock over this thread!!!!! I really don't even know what to say! I am a psychology student and I would NEVER seek medication advice about one of my patients on a website!! Makes me question this therapists knowledge about things. If it were me I would consult a psychiatrist!! I agree with tude on this one!!!

 

[morgan]

I agree with Tude, Rachel and blue-eyed angel. This whole thread stinks. I don't believe it's authenticity. If my therapist went on line like this I would find a new therapist!

 

[Marlene]

Oh yeah...big agree with the posts above me. Anyone who works in the mental health field and deals with children knows that the anti-depressants were black boxed years ago. I know because when my daughter (when she was 15) was in therapy her therapist told me this fact. Hell, even the anti-depressants they advertise on the TV says that they're not for use in children under 18.

BTW-askmenot, why are you not consulting other health care professionals with this question? Why are you asking lay-people medical questions on an open forum?

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Lisa

 

[Grama-Herc]

OMG I can not believe what I am reading here. This thread is so bogus. Who is this person anyway. No "REAL" doctor of any kind would do this. Has this been reported to Anthony?

We have seen a lot of so called victims here and later they just disappear cuz they were bogus, but this one takes the cake A DOCTOR, PLEEAASE! !

 

[askmenot]

Medications for teens (2)

Hi all,
this is a 'part 2' thread - I did post on this topic a couple of weeks ago but thanks to computer problems, have not been able to follow up on the replies.
Void - you asked some really useful questions and i will try to address some of them here again.
But first - to recap. I am a therapist working with a 14 year old boy with PTSD. His sister was murdered 2 years ago - they had been extremely close. His level of terror has crippled him to the point that he can no longer leave the house (except to come to therapy) and his parents are taking him to a psychiatrist in the hopes of having him medicated. I am usually very anti-meds, but in this case, I have to admit defeat. In his most recent 2 sessions, he didn't speak at all, but sat rigid or shaking, so incredibly full of self-loathing that I could almost taste it. His anxiety tends to come in cycles, with periods of either numbness or elevated mood in between. The intervals between periods of extreme anxiety and depression are getting shorter (about 2 weeks?).
As a therapist, I feel like all I can do for him at the moment is to hold the space, to be a container for all of the awfulness, but also for all of the creative beauty that I have also seen from him. I am concerned about his
inability to be in any sort of contact with me (even holding the end of a long peace of cloth, just to 'feel' me at the other end) other than to be in the room. And so I think that maybe medication might be a temporary answer.
I would really really love to hear from any of you who have been through a similar experience in therapy - I'm not a mind reader, and it's hard to work on any sort of PTSD protocol with a client who is so tortured that it is literally all they can do just to be in the room.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Am I doing this boy a total disservice by just sitting with him in it?
Can meds help teenagers?

 

[anthony]

I have been reviewing this thread and am happy to let it currently run, however; I would be very careful askmenot about what is said within it. I agree with some of the above points about questioning current patient care in public, even if names are not mentioned.... it does not seem professional to me.

I would ask members to remember they have a choice to not respond vs. create argumentative threads of authenticity.... Remember, authenticity often has a way of working its way out quite quickly.

This thread is on watch.

 

[anthony]

Askmenot... where are you located?