Pharmacotherapy
Psychopharmaceuticals are medications which have a therapeutic effect on the central nervous system and thereby have a beneficial effect on the pathological changes in experience and behavior that occur in mental disorders.
Depending on the mode of action and the area of application, psychopharmaceuticals are divided into several different groups:
- Antidepressants (drugs for the treatment of depression)
- Phase prophylactics (medications for mood stabilization and relapse prevention during depression and mania)
- Neuroleptics (drugs used to treat various psychotic conditions with disturbances in thought and perception)
- Tranquilizers (anxiety-reducing drugs), Hypnotics (sleeping pills)
- Anti-dementia drugs or nootropics (drugs for the treatment of dementia)
- Psychostimulants (medications currently used mainly for the treatment of certain types of attention disorders)
Contrary to common belief, most psychopharmaceuticals are neither addictive nor able to alter the personality of the treated patient. Rather, they help to alleviate symptoms of illness, they improve mood and reduce anxiety, and allow many patients to have an improved quality of life.
Antidepressants are stabilizing
Especially in the case of severe depression, the therapeutic use of antidepressants is indispensable. Psychopharmacotherapy stabilizes the psychological condition, which is a necessary foundation for further therapeutic treatment, particularly for the different forms of psychotherapy.
Like all other effective drugs, psychopharmaceuticals are not without side effects. In general, however, the newer formulations are well tolerated by patients. Any side effects are easily outweighed by the positive treatment effects. Since some depressive patients respond to a particular drug very well while others do not, we use a personalized antidepressant therapy approach in our clinic. For more information, please see Personalized therapy (German only).
However, if a medication is not well tolerated or not effective enough, changing the medication in question is both sensible and necessary. Sometimes, several treatment strategies must be tried out before the most effective and best-tolerated medication for the individual is found.
Stopping psychopharmaceutical treatment
Even after the mental well-being improves, the patient should continue to take the prescribed medication for a certain period of time in order to prevent a recurrence of symptoms. How long an individual should take a medication for depends on the severity of the illness and the number of previous illnesses, but also on the living conditions and social environment of the patient. Psychopharmaceuticals should never be changed (e.g. in dosage) or discontinued altogether without first speaking to the treating physician, because symptoms of the illness may reoccur. If the patient and the treating physician have both decided to discontinue a medication, the medication intake usually needs to be tapered off slowly. This will avoid any withdrawal effects that can occur when the medication is stopped abruptly.