Assignment: Assessing and Treating Pediatric Patients with Mood Disorders Walden University NURS 6630: Psychopharmalogical Approaches to Treat Psychopathology

Assignment: Assessing and Treating Pediatric Patients with Mood Disorders Walden University NURS 6630: Psychopharmalogical Approaches to Treat Psychopathology 2 Assignment : Assessing and Treating Pediatric Patients With Mood Disorders In the given scenario, the client is an 8-year-old African American male who arrives at the ER with his mother. He is exhibiting signs of depression. The patient complained of feeling "sad", the mother reports that the teacher said the child is withdrawn from peers in class, decreased appetite, and occasional irritation periods. The client reached all developmental landmarks at appropriate ages. Laboratory studies are within the normal range. The child was referred to psychiatry for evaluation. The patient is alert, oriented x 3, clear, coherent, goal-directed, spontaneous. The selfreported mood was "sad." Affect was somewhat blunted but smiled appropriately at various points throughout the clinical interview. He denies visual and auditory hallucinations. No delusional or paranoid thought processes were noted. Judgment and insight appear to be ageappropriate. He is not endorsing active suicidal ideation but does admit that he often thinks about himself being dead and what it would be like to be dead. Which decision did you select? The first selected treatment option is Zoloft 25 mg orally daily for depression. Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature Major depressive disorder occurs in adults and children and adolescents (Gershon et al., 1987). According to researchers, it is appropriate for clinicians to prescribe an SSRI for children and adolescents experiencing persistent moderate to severe depression or anxiety symptoms with clear evidence of functional impairment in addition to supportive treatment or a course of psychotherapy (Garland et al., 2016). In the given scenario, the patient is exhibiting functional