Drug Therapy

Evaluation

The Main Components of Drug Therapy

How the approach applies in therapy?

A03 - Psychologists

Weaknesses

Strengths

The subject gains relief from the symptoms

Drug Therapy doesn't cure it just relieves symptoms and allows the body to heal itself

Subject regains control over life

Subject gains positive reinforcement from responses to others

Self-esteem and self image are altered in a positive direction

Drugs can have severe side effects

Drug therapy is easy because prescription only needs updating every few months

What is a Drug?

A drug is any substance that is digested or directly introduced into the blood stream and has a potential neuropsychological effect

The term drug isn't usually used for things like caffeine, alcohol and most foods

In drug therapy the term drug describes medically prescribed substances given to clinically diagnosed disorders

They work by boosting the by boosting the activity of particular brain chemicals or by making the activity last longer, they can also work by reducing the rate of absorption or blocking the enzyme.

Anti-depressants

Anti-depressants are used for people who are clinically diagnosed with suffering a depressive episode but can also be used with people suffering from phobias, OCD or eating disorders like bulimia (conditions thought to have a basis in abnormal anxiety)

The Types of Anti-depressants are:

SNRI’s – increases levels of serotonin and noradrenaline

Tricyclics – similar action, older generation with more side effects such as hallucinations and irregular heartbeats than SSRI’s

SSRI’S – increases levels of serotonin

Anti-psychotics

Anti-psychotics are used to treat severe disorders where delusions and loss of contact with reality are common, such as schizophrenia, severe depression

Their are three theories about he they work:

Allowing increases off serotonin, glutamate and other mood-affecting chemicals

Some older anti-psychotics are thought to cause parkinsonism, hence the movement disorders and emotional flattening seen as side effects

Blocking dopamine, a neurotransmitter thought to cause psychotic experiences

First generation drugs (‘typicals’) such as haloperidol have been superseded by new generations (‘atypicals’) such as clozapine, with less side effects

Minor Tranquillisers

Minor Tranquilisers include sleeping pills, used for insomnia and are the most often prescribed drugs in the UK

Their main use is for severe anxiety and stress symptoms

Estimated 1.25 million long-term users of benzodiazepines in 2000, 12.7 million prescriptions issued in 2002, between 2015 and 2020 increased in users from 6.8 million to 7.8 million p.a. (NHS Business Services Statistical Report)

Described from the 1970’s onwards as a hidden epidemic - lots of people became addicted

Main drug was the benzodiazepine family, but more likely to be a SSRI now

Female/Male prescriptions ratio has remained consistent in the last decade 2 to 1

Benzodiazepines have dangerous withdrawal syndrome taking weeks and possible killing them

Lithium and Mood Stabilisers

They are usually prescribed for mood swing issues, principally bipolar disorder but can also be prescribed for mania, severe depression or emotional disorder

The main drugs are Lithium carbonate, Lithium Citrate

Lithium is poisonous so it needs to be carefully calibrated for the individual

One of the biological approach assumptions is the medical model that psychological behaviour is the result of physical processes and that all psychological illnesses should be treated with physiological rather than psychological methods for example using drug therapy.

Kahn et al (1986) found BZ's to be significantly better than placebos

‎ Soomro (2008) found the use of SSRI's with OCD to be more effective than placebos reducing symptoms of OCD up to 3 months after treatment

Their is no scientific evidence that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance which is corrected by antidepressants (MIND 2010)