Posted by Victoria on April 13, 2000, at 20:17:22
In reply to Re: anti-depresants, posted by Phil on April 13, 2000, at 19:39:04
I'm no expert either, but I agree with Phil. At least give talk therapy a reasonable try before going with meds. Last night, I went to a very interesting talk by a cognitive scientist who does research on brain development. It was very striking to hear from her results how much the brain develops and changes physically throughout childhood and adolescence (and also reassuring to learn that the brain continues to develop during adulthood). Given that a 7-yr. old's brain is still undergoing big changes, I'd want to avoid interfering with that process with drugs whose actions are still not fully understood, unless the child's symptoms and distress were severe enough to outweigh any possible harm Although many of us are very thankful to have drugs that help with biological imbalances, most of us tried other things first. For me, the failure of those things to help is part of what convinced me that I do have a biological problem. But, experiencing anxiety after a car accident sounds pretty "normal" to me. So I'd insist on trying talk (or play) therapy first.
> Nancy,
> I'm no expert but personally I don't like the idea of a seven year old on anti-depressants. I think a very good talk therapist would be a better first choice.
> The kid is having trouble sleeping and a little anxiety...TALK.
>
> Phil
poster:Victoria
thread:29893
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000411/msgs/29903.html