Psychotropic Medication: When They Can be Misused and/or Beneficial for System Involved Youth

Rachel Michaelsen, LCSW

Training Description

Frequently we work with system involved youth who are taking psychotropic medication and other times we wonder why a youth is not being prescribed medication. In this class you will learn what mental health diagnoses might be treated with medication, medication related referral processes and options, which types of medication are used for which diagnoses, what benefits and risk there are with different medications, how to know when side effects need to be reported to prescribing doctors, how to support system involved youth with medication compliance, how to talk to caregivers about compliance and other concerns related to psychotropic medication and how to help caregivers and youth make the most out of their appointments with their prescribing doctor.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

· Identify when a system involved   youth shows symptoms that might benefit from a medication evaluation

· List three things they can do   to help system involved youth get the most out of medication evaluation and   follow-up appointments

· Describe three strategies for   supporting medication treatment adherence

· Identify and discuss with caregivers their concerns about making a medication referral for a youth

Agenda 

9:00-9:15am  Intros and Logistics

9:15-10:00am  Psychotropic medication use with foster children

10:00-10:15am  Conditions that benefit from psychotropic medication

10:15-10:30am  BREAK (CEUs will not be offered for this time)

10:30-11:00am  Psychotropic medication: how they work and their common side effects

11:00-11:15am  The impact of alcohol and other drugs on prescription medication

11:15-11:30am  Referrals: when and who

11:30-11:45am  Supporting system involved youth in making the most out of medication appointments

11:45am-12:00pm  Supporting youth in medication compliance

12:00-12:15pm  Supporting caregivers concerns around medication use and compliance. Course Evaluations.

Meet Our Trainer

Rachel Michaelsen, LCSW, is a clinical social worker who has worked in HMOs, public agencies, and private practice as both a mental-health provider and a supervisor for over thirty years. She is a CAMFT certified supervisor and has a Certificate in Advanced Supervision from Smith College School for Social Work. She has taught courses in DSM-5, clinical supervision, law and ethics, childhood psychopathology, time management, vicarious traumatization and energy psychology at universities, conferences, and mental-health agencies.

This course meets the qualifications for (3.0) BBS CEUs for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.