Is There Evidence for the Bipolar Spectrum and the Safety of Pharmaceutical Interventions?

Littrell, Jill Leslie

Social workers constitute a high proportion of mental health professionals and a high percentage of social workers provide mental health care. Thus, psychiatric diagnoses and pharmaceutical interventions are relevant for many social workers. This article reviews the rise in the diagnoses of bipolar spectrum disorders for both children and adults. It considers the safety of antipsychotic medications, a mainstay of treatment for children and adults, which, in addition to other well-documented negative side effects, have recently been shown to decrease brain volume by a significant percent. These issues are particularly relevant for children in the foster care system.

DIAGNOSIS of bipolar disorder; ANTIPSYCHOTIC agents; BRAIN; DRUG overdose; BIPOLAR disorder; CLASSIFICATION of mental disorders; HEALTH outcome assessment; POST-traumatic stress disorder; PRODUCT safety; PSYCHIATRIC social work; PSYCHOLOGY of foster children; EVIDENCE-based medicine; PROFESSIONAL practice; TREATMENT effectiveness; SYMPTOMS

Social Work in Mental Health, 2012, Vol 10, Issue 3, p169

1533-2985

Academic Journal

10.1080/15332985.2011.639928