1st Edition

Pharmacological Treatment of College Students with Psychological Problems

Edited By Leighton Whitaker, Stewart Cooper Copyright 2008
    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    Get valuable insights into best practices and procedures for treatment

    Mental health practitioners across the country are increasingly treating students by combining the use of psychotropic medication with psychotherapy. Pharmacological Treatment of College Students with Psychological Problems explores in detail this uncritically accepted exponential expansion of the practice. Leading psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers discuss the crucial questions and problems encountered in this widespread practice, and also present specific and differing models of combined therapy. This book critically examines several of the key issues, practices, and competing perspectives. Professionals working in college mental health are provided with valuable insights into best practices and procedures in split and integrated treatment.

    Various clinicians beyond the psychiatric field are prescribing psychotropic medications with increasing frequency. Pharmacological Treatment of College Students with Psychological Problems presents a wide range of viewpoints on this issue, offering evidence, arguments, and recommendations to clearly illustrate the need for increased attention to the use of psychotropic medications and show how psychotherapy may be safer and more beneficial. Chapters include discussions on withdrawing from medication successfully, long term perturbation effects, and differing models of combined therapy in practice. This resource is comprehensively referenced.

    Topics in Pharmacological Treatment of College Students with Psychological Problems include:

    • identification of the key issues and practices of combining psychotropic medication with counseling in treatment
    • elements of two separate university counseling centers and how they provide combined treatment
    • emerging research on perturbation effects of use of psychotropic medications
    • best practices in the combined treatment in college settings
    • key unresolved questions that need further research
    • bringing a more sophisticated level in the practice of combined treatment with college students


    Pharmacological Treatment of College Students with Psychological Problems is a valuable resource for all professionals from seasoned professionals to beginning practicum students.

    • About the Contributors
    • Foreword (Thomas L. Murray, Jr.)
    • Preface
    • PART I: ISSUES AND CONCERNS
    • Chapter 1. Forces Pushing Prescription Psychotropic Drugs in College Mental Health (Leighton C. Whitaker)
    • Chapter 2. The Escalating Use of Medications by College Students: What Are They Telling Us, What Are We Telling Them? (Gerard Fromm)
    • Chapter 3. Matters of Substance: Students’ Voices (Gertrude C. Carter)
    • Chapter 4. The Current Status of Prescribing Drugs for College Students: A Nascent Science or a SNAFU? (Gerald Amada)
    • Chapter 5. Reality Check: What Science Has to Tell Us about Psychiatric Drugs and Their Long-Term Effects (Robert B. Whitaker)
    • PART II: MODELS OF EVIDENCE-SUPPORTED CURRENT PRACTICES
    • Chapter 6. Combined Psychotherapy/Medication Treatment: The Valpo Model (Stewart E. Cooper)
    • Chapter 7. The Pharmacological Treatment of Depression in College Aged Students: Some Principles and Precautions (Howard C. Blue, Louis C. Sanfilippo, and Christopher M. Young)
    • Chapter 8. Does Adding Medication to Psychotherapy for Depression Improve or Worsen Outcome? (Bertram P. Karon)
    • Chapter 9. Helping Individuals Withdraw from Psychiatric Drugs (David Cohen)
    • Chapter 10. The Fall and Rise of Resilience: Prevention and Holistic Treatment of Depression among College Students (Henry C. Emmons)
    • PART III: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
    • Chapter 11. The Big Picture and What Can Be Done to Improve It (Leighton C. Whitaker and Stewart E. Cooper)
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Leighton C. Whitaker, PhD, ABPP, is in private practice and editor of numerous journals. He is a Fellow of the Society for Personality Assessment and of the American College Health Association and was chair of the Association’s mental health section. He has been Associate Professor and Director of Adult Psychology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; Professor and Director, University of Massachusetts Mental Health Services; Director of Swarthmore College Psychological Services; and Consultant to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps. Dr. Whitaker holds a BA from Swarthmore College and a PhD from Wayne State University, and is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. His 90 professional publications address clinical and social subjects.

    Stewart E. Cooper, PhD, ABPP, is Director of Counseling Services and Professor of Psychology at Valparaiso University. He hold Diplomates from the American Board of Professional Psychology in both Counseling Psychology and Consulting Psychology and is a Fellow of Divisions 17 (Counseling) and 13 (Consulting) of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Cooper’s research has focused on the application of multivariate perspectives and methods in diverse counseling-psychology topics. He has published articles, book chapters, and monographs on prevention, psychometric analysis, substance abuse, dual-career issues, organizational consultation, and sex therapy. Most of this scholarship has been on the college population and college mental health issues. He has authored over 50 articles in scholarly journals.

     

     

    "This is a long-overdue, comprehensive, cutting-edge source book for university counseling center professionals, psychotherapists in other settings, and psychiatrists interested in the collaborative treatment of college-aged students with emotional issues. Anyone interested in learning the true effectiveness/ineffectiveness balance in the use of psychiatric drugs minus the propaganda produced by the pharmaceutical industry should read this book. The work is balanced and extremely useful for anyone in the helping professions."

    -Lloyd Ross, PhD, FACAPP, PA in Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, Volume 10, Number 1, 2008