Adolescent psychiatric disorders

This chapter suggests that the treatment of adolescents with psychotropic medication is, surprisingly, an unusual phenomenon. It seeks to clarify the appropriateness of considering adolescents separately, present a rational approach to psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. Ideally, drug treatment would only be used for adolescent psychiatric disorders in which a biological disturbance is being specifically improved by the action of the drug itself. G. Stanley Hall is generally considered to be the first psychologist to conceptualize this developmental stage, and he associated it with a time of strife and stress suggesting inherent instability, emotional turmoil, and psychic disturbance. The chapter addresses the classical syndromes seen in adolescent psychiatry and the drugs that are generally used in their management. In association with biological and psychological disruption, the developing adolescent is subjected to numerous social pressures from adults and peers. The chapter shows that although medication may improve target symptoms, it does not necessarily alter the overall course of illness.