Not all mental health challenges call for psychopharmaceuticals. In many cases, psychotherapy and support for healthier lifestyle choices can provide significant relief.
For many people, and for specific challenges, a combination of medication and psychotherapy will be effective and can deliver better results than medication alone or psychotherapy alone.
In consultation with you, your psychiatric professional can choose specific psychiatric medications that can address your diagnosis. Medication can help you regulate your moods, mitigate symptoms, and improve functioning.
Key points
- Consider medication as part of a comprehensive plan that may include psychotherapy and healthy lifestyle choices.
- Different medications address different mental health challenges.
- Often, medication choices and dosing need to be tweaked to “get it right”.
- Psychopharmecutials can interact with other medications that you may need and may affect your overall health. Make sure that your provider knows about any other medications that you take, about pregnancy, or any chronic health conditions.
A brief overview of psychopharmaceuticals
- Anxiolytics refer to the category of drugs used to treat anxiety in its many forms (including generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and phobias), by affecting the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain.
- Sedative hypnotics are used to treat severe sleep disorders such as insomnia and ease the symptoms associated with substance withdrawal.
- Stimulants (and Psychostimulants) such as amphetamines boost your mental focus, alertness, and energy and are used to treat ADD/ADHD and narcolepsy by stimulating your central nervous system.
- Antidepressants such as bupropion and various selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) reduce depression by promoting the effectiveness of your brain’s neural pathways to improve your energy levels, motivation, and appetite. Many antidepressants require several weeks to a month before you start noticing improvement, so it’s important to take the medication consistently. Do not stop taking the medication without first consulting with your doctor.
- Antipsychotics, neuroleptics, and tranquilizers are usually used to treat psychosis, hallucinations, and delusions. In certain cases, these medications may be used to treat bipolar disorder and obsessive behavior disorder (OCD).
- Anticonvulsants and mood stabilizers (such as Lithium) are used to treat severe aggression, mania, and bipolar disorder. In certain cases, they may be used to treat schizophrenia. Mood stabilizers reduce abnormal brain activity, which can be life-saving when a person exhibits suicidal ideation.
Common medications by psychopharmacological categorization
Antipsychotics (Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia)
Newer Antipsychotics:
- Aripiprazole (Abilify)
- Clozapine (Clozaril)
- Olanzapine (Zypreza)
- Paliperidone (Invega)
- Risperidone (Risperdal)
- Quetiapine (Seroquel)
- Ziprasdone (Geodon)
- Haldol (Haloperidol)
- Mellaril (Thioridazine)
- Moban (Molindone)
- Navane
- Prolixin (fluphenazine)
- Stelazine (Trifluoroperazine)
- Thorazine (Chlorpromazine)
- Trilafon (perphenazine)
Anticonvulsants (Schizophrenia)
- Depakote (Valproic acid)
- Tegretol (Carbamazepine)
- Lamictal (Lamotrigine)
Opioid Antagonist (Opiate Treatment)
- Naloxone (Narcan)
- Naltrexone
Benzodiazepines (Bipolar Disorder, GAD, Acute Alcohol Withdrawal, and Schizophrenia)
- Lorazepam (Ativan)
- Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Benzodiazepines (Panic Attacks)
- Alprazolam (Xanax)
- Chlodiazepoxide (Librium)
- Diazepam (Valium)
- Lorazepam (Ativan)
Mood Stabilizers (Bipolar Disorder)
- Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
- Gabapentin (Neurontin)
- Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
- Lithium Carbonate
- Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
- Topiramate (Topamax)
- Valproic Acid (Depakote)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- BuSpar (Buspirone)
Non-Acute Alcohol Withdrawal
- Acamprosate (Campral)
- Disulfiram (Antabuse)
- Naltrexone (Revia, Depade)
- Topiramate (Topamax)
SNRI (Depression, Panic Disorder, OCD)
- Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
- Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
- Venalfaxine (Effexor)
SSRI (Depression, Panic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, OCD, GAD)
- Citalopram (Celexa)
- Escitalopram (Lexapro)
- Fluoxetine (Prozac)
- Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- Paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
SNRI (Depression, Panic Disorder, OCD)
- Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
- Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
- Venalfaxine (Effexor)
Atypical antidepressants (Depression)
- Bupropion (Wellbutrin)
- Mirtazapine (Remeron)
- Nefazodone (Serazone)
- Trazodone (Desyrel)
Cyclic Antidepressants (Depression, Panic, OCD, GAD)
- Amitriptyline (Elavil)
- Desipramine (Norpramin)
- Imipramine (Tofranil)
- Nortriptyline (Pamelor)
MAOIs (Depression, Panic, OCD):
- Isocarboxazid (Marplan)
- Phenelzine (Nardil)
- Selegeline (Eldepryl)
- Tranylcypromine (Parnate).
Prescribing and tweaking medication
All medications must only be prescribed by an authorized mental health professional after completing a full medical and psychological evaluation. To ensure quality care, doctors must periodically review the efficacy (and any side effects) of medications prescribed to the patients under their care and make adjustments if necessary
If your doctor has prescribed psychiatric medication…
- Follow the instructions exactly as prescribed.
- Tell your doctor about any unexpected side effects you experience.
- Do not stop taking the medication without first checking with your doctor.
- Do not take any other medication (including over-the-counter/non-pharmaceutical treatments) without first checking with your doctor. Some herbs, vitamins, or supplements can interfere with the effectiveness of prescription medication.
Your health and safety are most important, and it is critical that you cooperate fully with your doctor for your own health and safety.
References and additional reading
Cuijpers, P., Noma, H., Karyotaki, E., Vinkers, C., Cipriani, ., & Furukawa, T.A. (2020). A network meta‐analysis of the effects of psychotherapies, pharmacotherapies and their combination in the treatment of adult depression. World Psychiatry, 19.
Nord, C.L., Barrett, L.F., Lindquist, K.A., Ma, Y., Marwood, L., Satpute, A.B., & Dalgleish, T. (2021). Neural effects of antidepressant medication and psychological treatments: a quantitative synthesis across three meta-analyses. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 219, 546 – 550.
