Plan for 'Biological therapies are successful in treating mental illness'

'Biological therapies are successful in treating mental illness  

With reference to the above statement, discuss the effectiveness of the biological therapy you described in part (1), using psychological knowledge and research (10 marks)

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Paragraph 1: Effective - supported and used

P: Drug therapy is commonly prescribed, issued, and approved by global health organizations.

E. GP can recommend and give you the drugs after assessing symptoms and emotions that would be best suited to you and your medical history. 

Approved by NICE - they recommend that for people who experience psychotic episodes should be offered oral antipsychotic medication in order to make them less severe, recommends certain dosages in order to relieve positive symptoms such as delusions/ hallucinations

E: With it approved and used globally, it displays how it does have some success of treating mental illness otherwise it wouldn't be recommended and prescribed so frequently. 

L: Thus, by using the biological therapy of drug therapy, it exhibits that it is successful in treating mental illnesses such as for Schizophrenia and this can lead to a better quality of life for the patient. 

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Paragraph 2: Not Effective - Side Effects

P: Side effects of the psychoactive drugs can be severe.

E: NHS Website - Side effects are unwanted symptoms caused by medical treatment and can range from mild, such as drowsiness or feeling sick to severe with life-threatening conditions, however, these do vary from person to person and there is a chance you won't experience these. 

However, in common cases of people taking SSRIs, side effects for people can include sleeping problems, loss of appetite, blurred vision, being sick, excessive sweating, etc... These can be as severe as leading to hallucinations, vomiting blood, or suicidal thoughts.

E: Therefore, when a patient who is suffering from depression and is taking SSRIs to try and gain a better quality of life and then experience side effects as severe as suicidal thoughts, it's not having any benefit to their mental health and isn't effective as it could be. Furthermore, it might lead the patient to stop taking their medication in order to avoid further side effects. 

L: In these cases of the severity of side effects, biological therapies are not successful in treating mental illness, and doctors or psychiatrists might recommend a different therapy e.g. CBT to relieve symptoms

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Paragraph 3: Not effective - dependency

P: Drug therapy can cause further issues - multiple risks of taking the drug

E: One example is benzodiazepines which after taking them regularly over a long period of time, your body can become psychically addicted or psychologically dependent on them to release the natural acid GABA to relax the body. Another example, where this may be the case is for SSRIs to activate serotonin. 

Thus when trying to stop or reduce the dose, there's a possibility of physical withdrawal symptoms in which you feel that you cannot cope with your day-to-day life unless you take them. 

If you withdraw suddenly, it can cause serious symptoms such as seizures and a condition resembling delirium tremens, with symptoms like rapid heartbeat tremor, hallucinations, and agitation. 

E: It isn't as effective as one coming off of them, can cause further problems which might lead to regression back into a bad mental health state

L: Not successful in treating mental illness, due to the risk of dependency on the drug and causing further issues

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Paragraph 4: Effective - research support

P: Research has shown that it is useful and successful in combating positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

E: Thornley et al (2003) found in a meta-analysis study that Chlorpromazine was associated with better functioning and reduced symptom severity than placebos, supporting that the drug does have a positive effect on schizophrenia patients. 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists estimates that 50-65% of people treated with an antidepressant for depression will see an improvement, compared to 25-30% of those taking a placebo.

E: Evidence shows that it is effective by treating a mental disorder in the same way psychical disorders are treated and giving them a better quality of life. 

L: This research shows that biological therapies are successful in treating mental illness and has research to support this claim.

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Paragraph 5: Not effective - short term comparison

P: In comparison with other treatments, the biological therapy of drug therapy is only short-term. 

E: CBT - longer term, and gets to the root of the problem. 

Beta-blockers do not completely stop anxiety but only mask the outward signs of it. 

Most drugs can only be given for a certain of months, thus the symptoms can always return. 

E: This could cause the 'revolving door syndrome, referring to the tendency of clients to get better for a while and then end up relapsing 

L: Therefore, even though it is successful in treating mental illnesses in the short term, in comparison to CBT, long term it doesn't have much of an effect and could cause more problems the longer it is taken. -> Not successful

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Paragraph 6: Not effective, unless diagnosed corre

P: There's a chance that a patient may be misdiagnosed due to the crossover of symptoms within a mental disorder, or the person not talking about all their symptoms to the doctor.

E: If you diagnose someone with depression but actually have bipolar, giving them Prozac would make them even worse and could make them feel more suicidal. It has been shown that  certain antidepressants tend to heighten the symptoms found in people with bipolar when they are wrongly prescribed

Some doctors might diagnose patients with the most obvious condition that comes to mind, after listening to their symptoms. 

High levels of misdiagnosed mental illnesses among people of colour, especially African-Americans have contributed to the perpetuation of the stereotype that these groups rarely struggle with mental illness -> this is harmful because it keeps members of this vulnerable population from seeking treatment when they are faced with a serious mental health issue.

E:

L: Could be successful, if diagnosed correctly, otherwise could have the opposite effect. 

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