Teen Depression - Article Example

Hojman, H. . Medication--what role does and should it play in treating children and teens. Brown Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter,27(7), 1-6. Author Horacio Hojman creates an interesting article regarding medication that is used to treat depression in teens and children. The journal article come from the Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter; Jul2011, Vol. 27 Issue 7, p1-6, 3p. The aim of the article is to focus on the effectiveness of medication that can be used to treat depression in adolescence.

The author pays a special focus on the overuse of pharmaceutical drugs versus the underuse of psychiatric evaluative techniques. The author states that he teaches medical students and has done his research regarding the topic and that there is just not enough evidence surrounding how to properly treat teen/ adolescent depression. The article accomplishes what it is set out to accomplish. This is to raise awareness of the overuse of pharmaceuticals to treat depression in adolescents. Before prescription drugs became such a large go to in treatment of depression, psychiatrists would use counseling methods to fight teenage depression.

Psychiatrists and parents would also work with schools, family members and other peers in order to try and get to the root of why the teen is depressed. Most of these methods were very successful and only required the use of prescription medication if highly necessary. It is obvious that the author is concerned that teens are not being treated properly and things need to change. The author is quick to state that recently, counseling is being used as a last resort rather than a first which has proven in the past to be successful.

Psychiatrists are now quick to give medication without follow up on treatment. The author’s problem with the overuse of prescription drugs is that teen depression is still on the rise. The author’s beliefs that in adolescence, many issues causing the depression can be worked out through counseling and peer interaction. The problem with the overuse of prescription medicine is that most of the medicines are not known to completely assist teens with fighting depression. Another problem which seems to be the author’s main concern is that most teens will not even take the medication.

This means that not only are they not getting the attention they need such as counseling, but they are also not getting the medication that was prescribed to them. The article is well written and laid out in the sense that is covers some of the causes regarding depression in adolescence and also the importance of getting parents involved. Sometimes getting the parents involved is what is necessary in order to stop the adolescent from being depressed. Since the brain is still growing, it is likely that many teens are able to grow out of their depression.