[Therapeutic methods used in psychiatric departments and homes for children and adolescents in Norway].

In November 1988 a point prevalence questionnaire study was carried out to evaluate which methods of treatment were given to child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients in Norway. Special emphasis was laid on to what extent psychotropic drugs are prescribed. All child and adolescent psychiatric institutions participated in the study and completed questionnaires on every inpatient on one particular day, 295 patients in all. The study confirms the family-oriented approach within child psychiatry and discredits the notion that children are drugged by psychiatrists. The study raises the question of how the chain of treatment should be organized to optimalize the available resources, and how methods should be differentiated in regard to the different diagnostic groups. It also emphasizes the need for continuous evaluation of the therapeutic activity.