Good;
- Patients often welcome drug therapy, as it is quicker, easier and less threatening than talk therapy.
- Between 50 – 65% of patients benefit from drug treatments.
- Drug treatment is usually superior to no treatment.
- Drug treatments lead to short-term improvement of most psychological symptoms.
- Drugs make it possible for the patient to benefit from other therapies.
Bad;
- All drugs have the potential to produce side effects.
- Side effects may be worse than the original symptoms.
- Some patients may still have some symptoms.
- Symptoms may return (or worsen) if drugs are stopped.
- Between 35 – 50% of patients do not improve.
- ‘Clinically significant improvement’ does not mean ‘cure’.
- Some drugs cause dependency.
- It encourages the patient to become passive – to hand over control of their lives to the clinician– this might not be a good thing for the patient.
psychology 