16
DRUG AND NUTRITION
THERAPIES
DRUG THERAPY:
BALANCING EMOTIONS WITH CHEMISTRY
Often especially helpful to people who are
emotionally very upset so that they may begin
to benefit from psychotherapy.
During the past thirty years, biochemistry and pharmacology have made many important contributions to the treatment of mental and emotional disorders. There is no question that psychotropic—literally "mind-turning" or mind-influencing—drugs can help many people during periods of emotional or mental suffering.
Psychotropic drugs can be used by themselves or in conjunction with psychotherapy. Frequently, drugs are used to help reduce the severity of symptoms in patients so that they may benefit from psychotherapy. Effective psychotherapy requires you to be comparatively calm, rational, and able to make well-thought-out decisions. These things are not possible if you are terribly agitated, are despondent and crying much of the time, or may, for example, have disturbing hallucinations and are no longer in touch with reality.
The aim of drug therapy is, eventually, to eliminate the need for medication. In this respect, psychopharmacology is similar to psychotherapy: both would like to help the patient so that he or she no longer needs either one. It is not always possible to do this, however. Some disorders are, at present anyway, chronic conditions. People with parkinsonism or epilepsy may have to take medication indefinitely. But the general trend is to use psychotropic drugs as temporary measures to bring symptoms quickly under control so that psychotherapy can be started.
The only professionals who are legally authorized to prescribe psychotropic drugs are physicians and, in particular, psychiatrists. However, psychotherapists are now being trained to be sensitive to conditions that may have an organic basis. Certainly, it is wise to have a thorough physical exam to rule out organic problems that can cause emotional or mental upset (see Chapter 8). Numerous studies have shown that up to half of the individuals who are referred to a psychotherapist have undiagnosed organic problems.[[1]] This is an important caution to bear in mind.
[[1]] See, for example, L. Small, Neuropsychodiagnosis in Psychotherapy (New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1980).
TYPES OF PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
There are nine main classes of psychotropic drugs: