Originally Posted by redwitch

Tal, I graduated with a degree in psychology. For some, quite honestly, they need medication and therapy plays a very small part, if any, in their "recovery" (although it doesn't hurt to understand more about your own mind and feelings). Most of the time, a combo of meds and therapy is needed -- especially for illnesses such as depression or bipolar disorder. For some, medication is irrelevant and it is the therapy that makes a difference.

I'm not saying that this young man didn't need therapy. From the little that has been said, it sounds like he was one of those who truly needed both. We have no idea how much intervention occurred while he was younger. All we know is that he quit taking his meds and quit seeing his therapist. As I said, some quit their meds because they think they are "cured." They quit seeing their therapist for the same reason.

Psychotropic medications are dual-edged. They truly help most people with chemical imbalances. At the same time, if the correct drug or cocktail of drugs is not found, they can actually cause violent behavior. While much of medicine has easy treatments for a doctor to recommend (insulin for the diabetic; surgery for the gangrene body part; surgery, radiation, chemo for the specific cancer; etc.), the medical field of psychiatry is truly a "practice." What works for one person with a definite diagnosis does not work for the next. Maybe one day we'll have more answers. I hope it is sooner than later. These school tragedies are coming more and more frequently and cause so much heartbreak.