Essay Sample on Assessing and Treating Pediatric Clients with Mood Disorders

A pediatric mood disorder is among the most severe children's disorders. The disease includes bipolar spectrum and depression. The disorders have been found to result in children's impairment in critical areas of their lives. The such area includes communication patterns, interpersonal interactions, employment, education functioning, family engagement, as well as suicide. To be able to administer the most effective treatment of such disorders, accurate diagnosis is of at most relevance. However, accurate diagnosis is sometimes hindered by comorbidity in diagnosing mental illness in children.

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Besides, children with mood disorders experience overlapping symptoms development and presentation, which may make the diagnosis particularly more complicated. Therefore it is essential for the physician to asses symptom presentation and functioning throughout the development of the individual. When it comes to medication, most of them have records of severe side effects. Therefore, deciding on which drug to prescribe calls for a well-thought decision among parents as well as the physician. The following essay evaluates three different decisions concerning medication prescription for a child suffering from depression.

Decision one

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) antidepressants

Vilazodone

Reason

This type of medication is the most prescribed for children with bipolar disorder. SSRIs are the most used class of antidepressants due to their excellent results. The medicine is best in treating bipolar as well as depressive symptoms. The drug increases the level of serotonin in the brain. Unlike other classes of depressants, they do not increase the level of norepinephrine in the brain. The drug has a record of working well in more than 60% of children who face depression disorder (Manousi, & Samanidou, 2020). It takes around three weeks for the child to start improving. They also have fewer side effects on a child and are rarely associated with suicide.

Expected results

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may take weeks for the patient to start experiencing any effect. However, I expect that the medication will be useful in the third week. The side effect of the drug will not persist (Richmond et. al 2016). Some of the expected side effects of the drug are headaches, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction. It is also expected that these side effects will improve with continued treatment. Finally, the child will likely recover from the disorder with time.

Unexpected outcomes

Sometimes the side effects of SSRIs may persist. The child may experience severe headaches, vomiting, and nausea while in medication. Increased restlessness and agitation associated with SSRIs may also continue. However, such insomnia can be treated with a low dose of Trazodone (Desyrel).

Decision two

Psychotherapy

Reason

This is among the first form of treatment for depressed children. During the process, the child talks to a licensed mental healthcare professional who helps him or her work through the factors that might have caused the depression. I would prescribe this type of treatment because it deals with the problem itself. It helps the child to restructure ways of thinking and have less or no related to any side effect.

Expected results

It is expected that through therapy, the real cause of depression will be found. This comes from understanding and identifying the life problems and events that may have contributed to the depression. It is also expected that the therapy process will help the child restructure the negative attitude about him, have self-control, and be happy (Watkins, 2018). From the process, the child will also recover fully from depression and learn different skills of coping with such events in the future.

The difference with the first decision

Therapy focuses on evaluating the thoughts of a person and behaviors. A therapist aims to identify stresses that may have contributed to the depression. Unlike using an antidepressant, the process is not a quick fix because it addresses the specific reaction to depression as an illness. Besides, it has been discovered the process of therapy is associated with other side effects that are not easily seen. These effects may include the appearance of new symptoms, stigmatization, tension as well as psychological distress, and marital conflicts.

Decision three

Tricycle antidepressants (TCAs)

Nortriptyline

Reason

The medication is a drug that can treat significant depression disorders. It is often described as one of the major depressive episodes. This class of antidepressants has shown excellent results for a long time. They work by increasing the level of Norepinephrine in the brain and, to a lesser extent, the degree of serotonin. The drug is more potent than SSRIs, and its effects take lesser time to be experienced by the patient. The medication improves the mood of the patient, relieves anxiety and increases his or her energy level.

Expected results

The patient is not expected to feel any effect before the end of two weeks. The drug might take even two months before the full recovery of the child. It is also expected that the child might develop suicidal thoughts because the drug works best for adults (Lee, & Melnick, 2019). For this reason, the parents are expected to continuously talk to the child to prevent him from committing suicide.

Comparison to other medication

Unlike most traditional medicines like SSRIs, the drug is not a stimulant. This means that the drug does not form a habit. However, the drug has severe side effects and should only be prescribed when the other medications are not sufficient. This effect includes; urinary retention, constipation, dry mouth, and visual disturbances. The severe side effect renders this type of drug the last option in my prescription.

References

Lee, S. J., & Melnick, S. M. (2019). U.S. Patent Application No. 16/225,893.

Richmond, E. K., Rosi-Marshall, E. J., Lee, S. S., Thompson, R. M., & Grace, M. R. (2016). Antidepressants in stream ecosystems: influence of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on algal production and insect emergence. Freshwater Science, 35(3), 845-855.

Watkins, E. R. (2018). Rumination-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. Guilford Publications.

Manousi, N., & Samanidou, V. F. (2020). Recent Advances in the HPLC Analysis of Tricyclic Antidepressants in Bio-Samples. Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry, 20(1), 24-38.