Biological therapies - drugs
- Created by: z_mills1
- Created on: 18-05-14 12:50
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- Biological therapies - Drugs
- Antipsychotic drugs
- used to combat the symptoms of psychotic illnesses e.g. schizophrenia
- conventional antipsychotics block the transmission of dopamine and so alleviate many symptoms of this disorder
- Antidepressant drugs
- SSRIs improve mood by making neurotransmitters like serotonin available
- relieve the symptoms of depression
- person can become psychologically dependent on them
- SSRIs improve mood by making neurotransmitters like serotonin available
- Anti-anxiety drugs
- Benzodiazepines reduce anxiety by slowing down the activity of the central nervous system
- Beta-blockers reduce the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline (part of the body's response to stress)
- highly addictive - should be prescribed for a short period only
- Evaluation
- Strengths
- effectiveness - drugs have been found to be effective in many patients
- ease of use - drug therapies require little effort from the patient - more likely to be motivated to continue treatment
- Limitations
- tackle symptoms rather than cause
- drugs only offer temporary alleviation of symptoms
- as soon as patient stops taking the drug its effectiveness ceases and symptoms return
- drugs only offer temporary alleviation of symptoms
- side effects - e.g. SSRIs can cause nausea and suicidal thoughts
- one of the main reasons drug treatments fail - as patient stops taking medication because of the side effects
- tackle symptoms rather than cause
- Strengths
- Antipsychotic drugs
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