In the September 2010 issue of The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report, Dr. Fisher neatly explains the meaning of Number Needed to Treat (NNT) and Number Needed to Harm (NNH), which can be a shorthand way of assessing whether to prescribe or not, and then applies this to the question of SSRI antidepressants in pediatrics.

Use this chart to understand some of the most common learning and developmental disabilities.

As the clinical director of the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement, I evaluate children and teens for learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and neuropsychological impairments, including ADHD. We work toward understanding the ways children learn and helping them pursue academic endeavors and overcome barriers that get in their ways.

Studies of “treatment as usual” in outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry settings are hard to come by.

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Historically, research into the effectiveness of antidepressants for depressed youths has been unimpressive. The history of SSRI use in children has been fraught with its own series of disappointments and controversies.

The extent to which antidepressants are effective for pediatric depression continues to stir controversy, as discussed in this issue of CCPR.

Psychotropic Drug Prescriber’s Survival Guide: Ethical Mental Health Treatment in the Age of Big Pharma.
Treating Child & Adolescent Mental Illness, A Practical All-in-One Guide.

Depression in teenagers can present quite differently from both adults and younger kids. Can you help us to understand how to go about diagnosing depression in teens?

Dosing stimulants is never easy. There are various rules of thumb—for example, 0.5 mg/kg for amphetamine preparations and 1 mg/kg for methylphenidate preparations—but these have not been empirically validated.