The straw man of prescribing in psychiatry: COMMENTARY ON... DRUG-CENTRED PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY [Articles]

‘Drug-centred’ prescribing in psychiatry has been proposed as a new and better approach than the current ‘disease-centred’ alternative. It targets symptoms most important to the patient using the concept that psychotropics act indirectly by altering normal functioning. I contend that it is a straw man: psychiatrists already use ‘drug-centred’ prescribing, applying their knowledge of a drug’s pharmacological profile and evidence base to treat each patient’s symptoms, not their diagnostic classification. Furthermore, there is no compelling evidence that psychotropics act by altering ‘normal’ functioning: rather, they have diverse effects on different mental states.

Source: Advances in Psychiatric Treatment - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Taylor, D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research