drug therapy

Question 1

anti depressants

Answer 1

one component of drug therapy is antidepressant drugs
they are used to treat depression
the biological cause of depression is due to not enough serotonin being produced in the synapses.
SSRIS bind to the presynaptic neuron so that serotonin can’t be re absorbed
increasing levels of it in the synapse prolonging activity which is received by the post synaptic neuron

Question 2

antipsychotics

Answer 2

one component of drug therapy is antipsychotic drugs
these are used to treat psychotic mental disorders eg schizophrenia
the biological cause of schizophrenia is high levels of dopamine
there are two types of these drugs one is atypical and conventional
conventional are for positive symptoms like hallucinations
they do this by blocking the action of dopamine neurotransmitters by binding to dopamine receptors reducing the activity of dopamine
atypical are for negative symptoms like social withdrawal by temporarily binding to dopamine receptors then rapidly splitting allowing normal dopamine transmission and they have fewer side effects

Question 3

explain how the assumptions of the biological approach have been applied to therapy

Answer 3

one assumption of the biological approach refers to the medical model of illness

it assumes that psychological disorders have a psychological cause known as the medical model based on the view that mental illness are like physical illnesses and can be treated in a physical way using drugs

2.

Question 4

one strength of drug therapy is (PEEL)

Answer 4

cost-
point-it’s cheaper for patients compared to other treatments in the uk drug treatments are prescribed by the NHS the practitioner has to invest less time in the patient because they only need to speak to them every few months after the initial consultation to see if the drug is working therefore this is a strength because it’s efficient and easy to administer compared to some forms of therapy

Question 5

drug vs placebo strength for evaluating (PEEL)

Answer 5

evidence supporting that the drugs are effective there is a randomised control trial used to compare the effectiveness of the drug versus a placebo. soomro et al reviewed 17 studies in reducing the symptoms of ocd up to three months after treatment furthermore kahn et al followed 250 patients over 8 weeks and found benzodiazepines to be superior to a placebo for treating stress and anxiety.therefore this is a strength because it shows the effectiveness of using drug therapy to treat mental illnesses
COUNTER ARGUMENT
However one of the issues regarding the evaluation of treatment is that most studies are only three to four months duration and there is little longitudinal data existing so findings should be applied with caution