Antipsychotic Medications

Michael Schoenbaum, Ph.D. is Senior Advisor for Mental Health Services, Epidemiology, and Economics at the National Institute of Mental Health.  Parents have a big decision to make when their children are prescribed antipsychotics.  These drugs will allow their children to better function in society, but at what cost?  Antipsychotics can lead to long-term health problems, especially in children.  This month the National Institute of Mental Health studied the trends of antipsychotic use among children and young adults.  A surprising finding was that many of the prescriptions made for antipsychotic drugs were off-label, meaning these drugs were prescribed in ways not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.