Rates of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in children have shot up in recent years. So too has the prescription of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs and stimulants. Yet the diagnoses are based on weak science, questionable research and powerful financial incentives. Sami Timimi questions why.
Rates of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in children, such as depression, ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders, have shot up in recent years. So too has the prescription of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs and stimulants. Yet the diagnoses are based on weak science, questionable research and powerful financial incentives. In this updated edition of his powerful critique, consultant child psychiatrist Sami Timimi questions why Western societies routinely seek to manage children's behaviour with dangerous medication. He offers a humane and child-centred alternative that is about understanding our children's distress, not medicating it, and practical advice that all parents, carers and teachers will find helpful.