Therapy Flashcards
What are the 3 main types of drugs used in drug therapy?
Antipsychotic drugs
Antidepressant drug
Antianxiety drugs
How might antipsychotic drugs work?
Conventional antipsychotics - block the action of Dopamine by blocking its receptor sites
Atypical antipsychotics - they temporally block dopamine sites to allow normal transmission
How do antidepressants work?
They either slow the rate of serotonin reabsorption or block the enzyme that breaks down serotonin , both increase the amount of serotonin available
How do antianxiety drugs work?
They are used to slow the activity of the CNS, this is achieved by enhancing the activity of GABA or reducing the effect of adrenaline and noradrenaline
What are the two types of antipsychotic drugs?
Conventional and Atypical antipsychotic drugs
What is a type of antidepressant drug?
SSRI’s such as Prozac
What an example of an antianxiety drug?
Drugs that reduce the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline - Beta Blockers
What are the 4 evaluation points for drug therapy?
Drugs vs placebos , side effects , symptoms not cause and comparison with other treatments
What are some side effects of drug therapy?
Side effects such as nausea , headaches and insomnia are common side effects of SSRI’s and may result in patients not taking drugs , which could be very negative
Why is drug therapy treating symptoms and not cause significant? (Evaulation)
Drug therapy only masks the symptoms and doesnt deal with the cause of the problem , which may cause revolving door symdrome as the patient is never truely better
How does drug therapy compare to other types of therapy? (Evaulation)
Compared to alternatives such as psychotherapy, drug therapy is far more cost-effective and easier to administer to patients than other therapies
How do drugs compare to placebos? (Evaulation)
A large amount of research suggests that drugs (such as SSRI’S in treating OCD and BZ’s) are far more effective in short term treatment of problems than placebos are
What are two ethical issues of drug therapy?
Use of placebos
Gaining valid consent
Why is the use of placebos unethical?
It doesnt help the patient , instead they may feel deceived as they arent being given the correct treatment
Why is gaining valid consent hard for drug therapy?
Patients may not be in the right frame of mind to cosent to drug therapy , they also may not fully understand the side effects that come with the drugs
