Medications and our Children

Are we over medicating our children?  Reading the article Medicating Young Minds really brought a light to this subject of Bipolar in children and medications.  I didn't realize children could be diagnosed as Bipolar never mind, could be medicated with the same meds as they give adults.  It is amazing to me that we would give our children medications in an "off-label" use to treat these disorders.  I agree that these disorders are serious and children may need to be treated with medications, but we also need to treat with counseling and/or other non-medicinal modalities.  We are medicating children and we don't know if the drug's side effects may do more harm than non-medicating. 

Why are we medicating minor depression in our adolescents?  Who doesn't have minor depression at some point in middle/high school?  For most people, the breakup of that first "serious" relationship causes minor depression.  If we now treat this depression, does this show these adolescents that we should turn to drugs to treat all of our problems?  Again, I am not saying that there are not cases that will require medications, I am just concerned about the impacts of these medications on young minds.  Not only the physical impacts but the impacts they may have on the emotional brain, and their ability to learn and retain new concepts.

I knew a girl when I was growing up she was about 4 years younger than me.  She was severely depressed, there were many suicide attempts (a few close calls) she even lived in a "half-way" house for the mentally unstable.  There were many medications tried to no avail, living in the half-way house counseling was presented to her.  She underwent intensive counseling, they added one medication and she became a productive citizen.  She became a Physician's Assistant and now helps others to heal.  This is why I believe counseling before medications should be part of the treatment for children, get to the root of the problem before treating it.  Medications need to be tested further before given to our young children.  I am glad that research is still ongoing. :)