Today’s children and teens increasingly experience anxiety and depression, and parents are looking for answers. Medication can be so helpful, but parents understandably have a lot of questions about how medication can affect their children’s health and well-being. In this episode of Ask Alice, licensed professional counselor Alice Churnock speaks with veteran pediatrician Stacey Gilbert, who answers questions from parents who are exploring medication as an option for their children. Dr. Gilbert dispels myths and encourages a balanced perspective on meds. With so many confusing and conflicting reports about medication, this episode of Ask Alice allows parents to hear the truth directly from a professional.
Dr. Gilbert addresses the following questions:
How young is too young to put a child on medication?
What would cause you to start a child on meds ? What symptoms are you looking for?
How long do most kids take meds and are they addictive?
What is a black box warning and should that deter us from starting a kid on meds?
How do medications work – what do they do for the brain?
As a Christian, how can I justify placing my child on medication?
On the Rooted blog , we work to address teen depression through the lens of the Gospel. Here are some articles and podcasts we hope you and the parents of your students will find helpful:
Only the Gospel Will Save Teens From Their Anxiety by Seth Stewart
To the Parent Struggling With a Struggling Teen by Kristen Hatton
Parenting A Child With Major Depressive Disorder by Ingram Link
Rooted Podcast: Dave Thomas on Adolescent Anxiety
Rooted Podcast: Gospel Contextualization of Anxiety and Academic Pressure in Affluent Suburban and Asian American Contexts with Cameron Cole and Clark Fobes
In addition, check out the Special Challenges section of our Resources tab for more Rooted articles and other resources on topics such as depression, grief, and perfectionism.
Don’t forget to send your questions for Alice to askalice@rooted.com.
Stacey Stephenson Gilbert is a mom of two teenaged daughters and has been married to Skip Gilbert for 25 years. She is a Pediatrician at Mayfair Medical Group in Birmingham, Alabama. She loves all things UNC, serving Jesus (especially doing medical missions in Rio), and making homemade ice cream.
This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.
