Psychotropic Drug Resources and Links

Below you will find a plethora of resources related to psychotropic medication intended to provide you with comprehensive information about psychotropic medication and therapy. Remember, the best person to ask specific psychotropic medication questions to is a qualified health professional.

 

Therapy and Psychotropic Medication:

• The Effectiveness of Psychotherapy: The Consumer Reports Study - This article explores findings about the benefits of therapy and differences in the effectiveness of various treatment protocols.
  
• A Neurobiologically Informed Perspective on Psychotherapy - This study suggests that therapy has measurable effects on clients’ brains and that implicit memory can be altered through therapeutic interventions.
  
• Therapy Beats Drugs for Mild Depression, Study Shows - Research indicates that while antidepressant drugs can be extremely helpful for clients diagnosed with severe depression, clients with moderate or mild depressive symptoms are likely to receive increased benefit from other treatment options.
  
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Plus Medication Better Than Medication Alone For ADHD Adult Patients - Research indicates that taking medication combined with one-on-one sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy significantly improves symptoms of adult ADHD.
  
• Adding Group Psychotherapy to Medication Treatment in Dysthymia - Results from this study highlight preliminary findings that group psychotherapy may provide improved functioning to dysthymic patients who respond to psychotropic medications.
  
• Cognitive Therapy Tops Medication Treating Depression - This study finds that cognitive therapy is comparable to medication in efficacy for long-term treatment of severe depression and is less expensive.
  
• Mind Over Meds - Dr. Daniel Carlat discusses the benefits of treating mental health concerns with medication and therapy, versus medication alone, based on his own professional experiences as a psychiatrist.
  

 

Risks and Efficacy of Psychotropic Medication:

• What are the Real Risks of Antidepressants? - This article examines the potential risks, side effects, and benefits of taking commonly prescribed antidepressants.
  
• The Depressing News About Antidepressants - Studies suggest that antidepressants are no more effective than placebo pills in many instances of depression treatment.
• Lust, Romance, Attachment: Do the Side Effects of Serotonin-Enhancing Antidepressants Jeopordize Romantic Love, Marriage, and Fertility? - A PDF chapter from Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience examining the effects of SSRIs on sexuality, love, and partnering.
  
• Antidepressants Linked to Major Personality Changes - Research identifies that many people taking Paxil exhibit decreases in neuroticism and increases in extroversion, personality traits originally believed to change very little over a lifetime.
• Why Antidepressants Don't Work For So Many - This study indicates that more than half of the people who take antidepressants do not get relief from depression.
  

 

Other Resources:

• Freedom Center's Harm Reduction Guide for Coming off Psychiatric Drugs - A 40-page guide written by Will Hall and published by The Icarus Project and Freedom Center, offering information about reducing or stopping psychiatric medications. The guide is not meant to instruct anyone to stop taking psychiatric medications, but rather aims to educate consumers about their options if they decide to explore going off of psychotropic medications.
• BehaveNet - The Web's most comprehensive encyclopedic taxonomy of psychiatric drugs (including drugs of abuse), diagnoses (including diagnostic criteria), terminology and notable people with references to associated media and other resources.

Video:

• PBS Frontline: The Medicated Child - Aired in 2008, Marcela Gaviria of FRONTLINE interviews doctors, government regulators, and researchers to explore the benefits, risks, and questions around prescribing psychotropic medication to children.

Click here for specific information about common psychotropic medications and the GoodTherapy.org Position on Psychotropic Medication.

 

Last Update: 07-06-2012