Medicating adolescents is NOT like medicating children or adults, especially when you're talking psychotropics. There's all kinds of chemical activity going on in their brain thanks to developing hormones and such that it's not generally recommended unless there's a serious mental diagnosis. yes, but in practice lots of teens are medicated, often by GPs/pediatricians and not psychiatrists. It's not a good thing, but it is not uncommon
When I worked in the Adol Med department of a local hospital, the doctors would refer patients to a psychologist (cannot prescribe drugs) before a psychiatrist (can prescribe drugs)--or bring him into the session if he was in clinic. They would discuss the case with the psychologist before prescribing any psychotropics. Every doc I worked with was very careful before taking that step. From what I read in the articles, etc, that they discussed in their conferences, it was generally a last-step and then only with recommendation from a psychiatric trained practitioner. often times therapists are the ones who make the psychiatric referrals after working with teens. What they told you at a conference is often different than what happens in practicality. What you describe is the ideal, but not common practice in the different situations I've worked inpatient and out patient as a psychologist.
As for whether or not it's good to portray someone being helped by medication--I'd say it was, as long as you dramatized that they had a medically treatable problem and you got the facts about what they're taking, etc, right.
Also, people generally don't get meds for depression without also receiving counseling for how to cope or getting down to the root of the depression at the same time. It's a hand-in-hand process. Ideally, but that is not true when dealing with GPs and pediatricians who prescribe. The ideal is most helpful to the patient, but unless the patient has a serious mental illness or a recent hospitalization, reality doesn't measure up. What your saying is the way it should be, but HMOs insist doctors see more patients for less time and less money and therapists, while generally less busy can't spend all day playing phone tag. It can take a long time to hook up with a physician, because we don't take calls during sessions and drs don't take calls when they are with patients.