Debate Over Children and Psychiatric Drugs
In today's New York Times:
“ 'Bipolar is absolutely being overdiagnosed in children, and the major downside is that people then think they have a solution and are not amenable to listening to alternatives,' which may not include drugs, said Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Stony Brook University School of Medicine on Long Island.
Paraphrasing H. L. Mencken, Dr. Carlson added, 'Every serious problem has an easy solution that is usually wrong.'
Others disagree, insisting that increased awareness of bipolar disorder and use of some medications has benefited many children.
'The first thing to say is that the world does not see the kids we see; these are very difficult patients,' said Dr. John T. Walkup, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine."
