Running head: APPROACHES TO TREATMENT 1

Approaches to Treatment

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date
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Depression is a severe mental disease which has the feature of persistent reduced mood

that tampers with the individual's daily activities. Depression is also common in children since

they tend to have a prolonged sadness. It reduces the ability of the children to interact or play

with friends, interact with their siblings and other family members, and affecting their overall

performance in the school. Depression is also affecting the emotional and physical development

and growth. The diagnosis of depression among children reveals that there are about 3 percent

and 8 percent of children and adults respectively who suffer from depression.

The case to be analyzed is that of an 8-year-old Africa American who arrives at the

facility with his mother and exhibiting the symptoms of depression. He complained of having a

sad feeling, withdrawing from the peers in the classroom, a reduction in appetite and continuous

irritation. Therefore the assessment of this patient will be based on the important decisions to be

made to help him deal with the condition.

Decision #1: the prescription of the Zoloft 25 mg

Reason for the selection of the decision: Zoloft 25 mg is considered as the most effective

drug that can be used to deal with the symptoms of the depression children. Zoloft is helping in

the treatment of mood disorders thus helping in relieving the pain for this child (Stahl &

Morrissette, 2016).

The expected outcome from the decision: It is expected that the child will be able to show

some signs of improvement after 1 week of the medication. The patient will have some happy

feelings, improvement in the interaction with peers, an increase in appetite, and a reduction in the

incidence of irritation.

The variations in the expected and the actual outcome from the decision made: after the

treatment of the patient and discharge, he will be back for further assessment to determine
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whether the medication was helpful in dealing with the symptoms of the disease. It is expected

that the child will not react to the prescribed drug so that the dosage can be maintained for

another visitation to the facility. However, the situation might be different in case the symptoms

of the patient are not reduced or the patient does not experience any improvement from his

condition. In case there are no side effects presented by the patient, then the dosage will be

increased.

Decision #2: Prescription of Zoloft 50 mg from 25 mg

Reasons for the prescription: the dosage for the prescribed drug (Zoloft) is increased from

25 mg to 50 mg to help the patient benefit from the drug. This is due to the fact that in the

previous attempt (25mg), the patient was unable to have some improvements. Since he never

reacted to the drug, then it is will be effective if the dosage is increased so that he benefits from

the therapeutic effect of the drug.

The expected outcome from the decision: it is expected that upon another visit to the

facility, the patient will be able to indicate that there is a reduction in the sadness feelings,

improvement in the way he interacts with the peers in the classroom, and an increase in his

appetite.

The differences in the expected outcome with the decision and the outcome of the

decision: one of the expectations from the decision is the positive changes in the symptoms of

the patients. This will help in confirming that the patient is tolerating the prescribed drug.

Therefore the expected outcome and the actual outcome will be identical thus allowing the child

to continue with the therapy while at the same time monitoring him for any possible

development of the side effects and planning for the next visit.

Decision #3: to continue with the medication of Zoloft 50 mg

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Reason for the decision: since the patient is able to prove that there is no evidence of the

possible side effects, the patient will have to continue with the medication. This, therefore, will

allow for the process of having further evaluation and monitoring while taking note of the

positive changes and gains in terms of the reduction in the depression symptoms (Stahl &

Morrissette, 2016).

The anticipated outcome: there will be complete healing of the child's condition with no

presentation of the possible side effects of the drug.

The differences in the expectations: it is expected that there will be the attainment of the

therapeutic effects as per the objective of the treatment. This actual outcome is a confirmation

that the patient has successfully managed to heal from the depressive disorder (Stahl &

Morrissette, 2016).

The ethical perspectives

The main objective of the treatment of the patient is to help in the improvement of the

overall healthcare outcome. According to the recommendation made by the FDA, a child whose

age is below 18 years is not supposed to receive the prescription of the drug meant to treat

depression. This, therefore, means that since the child is 8 years old, it is not possible for him to

be given Zoloft 50 mg. Nevertheless, this law approves the medication of these children by

seeking consent from the parents. Therefore based on the beneficence ethical principle and the

alternative given by the FDA about consent seeking from the parents, it is ethically wise to help

the patient overcome the symptoms from the depressive disorder (Chua, Shrime, & Conti, 2017).

Conclusion
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The patient needs immediate and urgent medication to help him overcome depressive

disorders. Therefore, through following the ethical principle and the FDA requirement, it is

possible to help the child overcome the depressive mood by prescribing the Zoloft 50 mg.
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References

Chua, K.P., Shrime, M. G., & Conti, R. M. (2017). Effect of FDA investigation on opioid

prescribing to children after tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. Pediatrics, 140 (6),

e020171765.

Stahl, S. M., & Morrissette, D. A. (2016). Stahl's Illustrated Sleep and Wake Disorders.

Cambridge University Press.