The relation between the use of psychopharmacs and the psychotherapic process during childhood

Abstract

Nowadays, changes have occurred in the manner psychotherapists understand the relation between the use of medicines and the psychotherapic process. We have ascertained the soaring number of children under medication and propose, through this study, to check the relation between the use of medication and psychotherapy, during the psychotherapic process. We analyzed 37 dossiers of up to 12-year-old children, who had received psychotherapic assistance in an integrated healthcare unit in RS. Later, we entered the data into the SPSS statistical program. We ascertained, as significant results, that practically half of the children were under medication. The boys showed higher improvement rates, and the evolution in the treatment proved to be better with children who did not take phychopharmacs. This made us conclude that psychotherapy associated with the use of medicines was not a determining factor in the improvement, and it had no relation with the theme in question, with age, nor with assistance time.