Exploring Medication for Adopted Children: Mental Health and Behavioral Treatment Options

Published by the Adoption Advocate, July 2023, Issue Number 173

The adoption community has made great progress in understanding the impact of trauma on children’s mental health and emotional well-being. As more adoptive parents seek healing for their children through mental health services, they are part of an overall rise in the general population of children and adolescents whose mental health and behavioral treatment plans involve medication. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, child psychiatrist Joshua Sparrow outlines common concerns and considerations for psychotropic medications, when to worry, tips for observing, describing, and understanding your child’s behavior, and how to develop a team approach for parents, children, doctors, and teachers.