Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Simple

Abstract

There are many informative books available on the topic of psychopharmacology, but it is difficult to find concise and informative guidelines for treating children and adolescents. In addition, most psychiatric medications are not approved for use in children, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed limitations on using certain medications with this population. Practicing psychopharmacology with children and adolescents is not only more challenging clinically, it is also a much riskier practice clinically and medicolegally than practicing adult psychopharmacology; this book addresses these issues in a very precise manner. Dr. Preston, a well-known leader in teaching clinical psychopharmacology, has combined his knowledge with that of Dr. O'Neal (a psychiatrist) and Dr. Talaga (a psychiatric pharmacist) to produce a brief but informative practice guide for mental health and medical professionals alike. The book is well organized, with an introductory chapter that highlights current issues in prescribing psychiatric medications for children and adolescents followed by succinct chapters on each diagnostic category. This book also covers diagnoses such as autism, Tourette's disorder, and tic disorder, which are often omitted. I am not aware of a comparable book on the market that addresses treatment issues in an equally brief yet informative manner. This book addresses several pertinent issues in treating children and adolescents, including specific medical guidelines as well as often neglected yet vital contributory issues such as family dynamics, social variables, and cultural issues. Also included in this text are important concepts that might be overlooked by clinicians who are not used to treating this population; these include clinically significant changes in hepatic metabolism that accompany puberty, the need for concurrent psychotherapy with any psychopharmacology, the reality that parents who do not 100% endorse your treatment will often sabotage it, and the fact that clinicians who treat these patients will be prescribing mainly off-label and to a population that receives significant negative media coverage in regards to psychiatry. This book is easy to read and is based on both relevant clinical experience and sound research. In a book this size that covers a topic this big, there are bound to be omissions, and most of the omissions noted were secondary only to the depth allowed in a reference-based publication. However, I did discover some omissions that most likely should have been included. For example, very little coverage was given to the use of atypical antipsychotics for childhood bipolar disorder, which is out of step with current research and practice. Aside from mainly minor omissions, this book covered a very broad, difficult, and contentious psychiatric specialty in a very informative manner. I would recommend this book to my peers.