Neuropsychopharmacotherapy in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The high prevalence of mental health dysfunction in childhood and adolescence, together with the fact that many mental disorders in adulthood emerge and consolidate in this period, underlines the importance of effective and safe treatments. The present chapter on neuropsychopharmacotherapy summarizes and discusses the critical issues of efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability in the application of the major medication groups, i.e., psychostimulants, antidepressants, and antipsychotics, prescribed to children and adolescents. Relevant questions and evidence-based knowledge are presented, complemented by descriptions of expert experience in the context of the most prevalent indications for these medications. Treatment strategies for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis are outlined. This chapter focuses particularly on age-specific aspects, such as consent, patient participation, and off-label use, but it also includes a discussion of the current evidence and guideline recommendations in treating young patients.