Meds and kids, kids and meds: Creating a divide among social work professionals everywhere

I was attending field seminar the other day when this topic came about. Field seminar, I should explain, it like a small group that is comprised mostly of interns like yourself that work at your agency or similar ones. We all come together twice a month along with our field liaison (our professor) to discuss how everything in field is going along with airing any concerns we have about our placements. We met at our local CSA (Community Services Agency), which I learned houses most county social service agencies/all the county social workers. Really cool!

In addition to our professor, there were six of us. Two women who are in the three year program and work in that building and four of us who all work at the same nonprofit FFA. The topic of kids and meds was brought about by one of the three year program students.

Kids and meds is a really tough topic. When I say kids and meds, I mean kids that are on psychotropic medications (just to clarify).  It usually creates a divide amongst people and causes you to examine your paradigm (beliefs, past experiences, what led you to believe the way you do).

You will suddenly find yourself surrounded by many differing opinions.

As we went around the table and shared, everyone brought a different opinion and story to the table. The woman who brought up the topic already works in the field and has witnessed kids that are on multiple medications. She said some kids are on so many meds that they start having side effects like ticks that they then have to prescribe another medication to take care of.

One woman thought that none of these kids needed medication and that they needed intense therapy. Our professor does not believe that mental illness even exists.

The woman sitting next to me began to tell the story of her father that had been suffering from depression and tears began to well up in her eyes as she talked about how it was hard because he wasn't himself and they tried medication on him and it made him worse and how her family is still struggling with it...so she is not an advocate for psychotropic medication at all.

When it came to my turn, I had a hard time organizing my thoughts.

Naturally, my paradigm played a giant role and really affected my perceptions of these beliefs and stories. As I listened to the first woman's story, I couldn't help but reflect back to my internship at the previous FFA, where I worked with severely emotionally disturbed kids. Most of those kids were on medication, and if you had asked anyone there, they really needed it. These kids jumped out of moving cars, tried to assault other people, and many more jaw-dropping worthy things.

As I listened to the second woman's story, my heart and head wanted to yell, wait wait wait...therapy cannot solve all problems. And as I listened to the third woman's story, my heart literally wanted to jump out of my chest.

I hypothesized that I was probably the only person in the room that had ever been diagnosed with a mental illness and treated for it.

That alone, shapes my entire paradigm.

Part of me wanted to scream: "How can you possibly be able to hold true to an opinion on something you've never even experienced?"

As I began to speak, I explained that I had been diagnosed and have been treated using both therapy and medication. I told them that just therapy isn't always the answer for people. That some days when you've forgotten to take your meds its like a little voice that sits in the back of your head and tells you mean things and makes you paranoid. This voice, no matter how many times you try to be rational and tell yourself you're being ridiculous, you just can't win and have to constantly fight that losing battle. I told them that when I take my medication after not taking it for a day or two, it's as if life makes sense again. Like you've been driving in the fog for two days and you finally escape it feeling like you can take on the world again.

I'm lucky that I've been able to find a medication that works so well for me, but I have had issues with medication in the past, including a situation similar to the woman who talked about her dad. The fact is, I moved past that hurdle and kept trying meds until I found one that worked for me.

So, as a person who has been so positively affected by the use of medication, its was hard to sit in that seminar and listen to everyone's opinions, feeling like the odd person out.

In social work, we're taught to respect others' paradigms and always put the best interest of the child first. At this point, I don't know how I feel about meds and kids. It's scary to think that sometime in the near future, I'm going to have to provide input on these kinds of decisions. It's issues like these that make you feel like you're forced to make decisions about what kind of social worker you'll be.

Being challenged is always a good teaching tool, but sometimes when the object of challenge is close to your heart, you must be able to clearly see both sides of the issue.