This webinar will focus on the role of antidepressant medication in treating depression and anxiety disorders in young people (age 13-24).
Join the discussion on the increasing rates of mental health disorders in young people and the increased prescribing rates of antidepressants in this cohort.
Look at the role of medication in the stepped treatment approach, ensuring it is part of a comprehensive plan alongside psychological therapies and lifestyle/social strategies and discuss the evidence base for antidepressant medication in young people and look at clinical scenarios where medication might be indicated.
Discuss specifics of how to select/prescribe SSRIs, including important considerations in counselling young people regarding these medications (including potential side effects, time to effect, activation, expected duration of therapy, patient expectancy and placebo effect, dose adjustments) and cover recommended review process and deprescribing.
Learning outcomes:
- Outline the role of antidepressant medication within the stepped treatment approach to management of anxiety and depression in young people.
- Discuss the risks and benefits of antidepressant medication using a multidisciplinary approach
Facilitator
Dr Tim Jones
Chair, RACGP Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health
Dr Tim Jones is a Tasmanian GP, rural generalist and supervisor with an interest in child and infant health. He is passionate about supporting parents and families in a holistic manner. Tim the Chair of Specific Interests, Child and Young Person’s Health at the RACGP. Tim works clinically at Lauderdale Medical Centre and as a senior medical educator with the RACGP and with Emerging Minds.
Speakers
Dr Kate Annear, MBBS(Hons), DCH, MPH, FRACGP
GP and Medical Educator at Medcast
Dr Kate Annear is an experienced GP based in Sydney, specialising in women’s and children’s health. She has a special interest in public health and medical education. Kate is the clinical lead for all health professional education on QHUB for the QUDTP project. Kate was previously a Medical Advisor at NPS MedicineWise where she was involved in the development and implementation of projects including the safe use of medicines for older people and chronic kidney disease. Kate is experienced in hosting webinars and podcasts exploring issues related to the quality use of medicines
Dr Iain Macmillan
Consultant Psychiatrist
Dr Iain Macmillan has been a Consultant Psychiatrist since 1995 and has worked as a consultant in early intervention in psychosis, and youth mental health since 2003, and has a particular interest in the treatment of the affective psychoses including bipolar disorder and depression with psychosis. He was appointed Regional Early Intervention Clinical Lead for Psychiatry for NHS England (North) from 2015 to 2017. Iain returned to Victoria in 2017, and has been Consultant Psychiatrist to the headspace Early Psychosis team in Frankston, Victoria since then. Iain is the Victorian representative on the RANZCP’s Section for Youth Mental Health Bi-National Committee and Chair of the Victorian SYMH branch committee. He has been centrally involved in the development and ongoing evaluation of the first specialist training programme, for psychiatrists, in Youth Mental Health, which will start enrolment in 2026. He is a Fellow of the UK, and Royal Australian and New Zealand, Colleges of Psychiatrists, the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP), and the International Society for Affective Disorders. He is a Member of the International Association for Youth Mental Health, the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the International Early Psychosis Association.
