Pharmacological Treatment of Mental Illness Essay Example

Pharmacological and psychological treatments are usually combined in clinical practice, and some evidence to support the approach has been found. In this paper, an appropriate and straightforward evidence-based information on the pharmacological treatment to persons with mental disorders will be revealed. The following are the major disorders that require pharmacological treatment in the health sector; bipolar disorders, generalized anxiety as well as the sleep disorders depressive disorders among other mental disorders (Torrey, 2015). Generally, pharmacology involves the science which encompasses the study of drugs and the impact it has on the living system. The sector of pharmacology is essential in the following areas; improving the effectiveness in medicine, helps in the reduction of the unwanted side effects of the medication and also in getting knowledge on why people differ in their response to certain drugs and why others result in addiction (Torrey, 2015).

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The treatment of mental disorders in pharmacology can also be referred to as psychopharmacology. This is referred to as the scientific study of the effects of drugs on psychological factors such as mood, and behavior. Therefore in the psychological treatment of mental disorders, the prescribed medication is used together with another method which includes; psychotherapy for mental disorder treatment. In this case it a medical condition where a person's ability to relate with others, the way of thinking, daily activities emotions and moods are profoundly disrupted. The well-known severe mental illnesses include acute depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic disorder(PTSD), eating disorders and also borderline personalities .the treatment, definition and classification of the disorders are time and cultural dependent (Ortiz, 2015).

The use of the prescribed medication for the cure and management of mental disorders is interchangeable with the individual's behavior as well as the psychotherapeutic interventions including the family and systemic therapy, psychodynamic approach, behavior, and the counseling. All the interventions are only used in the cases of mental disorders, e.g. there exists strong evidence on the effectiveness of the cognitive and the psychoeducational therapies for treating the manic episode of the effective bipolar disorder while for the depressive episode of the same disorder preference will be based on the interpersonal relationship (Ortiz, 2015). The family and cognitive behavior therapy in conjunction with social learning, adaptation therapy, and cognitive remediation together with the management of illness are mainly recommended for schizophrenia.

In some instances of chronic mental disorders, the interventions mentioned above are not much effective while they can be impractical to some patients group and also costly for that matter. The treatment of mental disorders has evolved with time together with the psychosurgery which was used before technological advancement. The psychosurgery involves the removal of neuro-interventions and some parts of the brain which are known to be the alienating mental disorders. Another way is the treatment by the convulsive therapy introduced by the Hungarian neurologist which involves the use of the pentetrazol as a treatment to depression (Ortiz, 2015). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment can also be used as a substitute to pentetrazol. ECT is widely used in the treatment of the mental disorders like schizophrenia, major depressions, and mania in conjunction with other therapies like trans-cranial bright light therapy and the electromagnetic therapy which is used for the seasonal affective disorder.

The modern psycho-pharmaceuticals are categorized into antipsychotics ( or neuroleptic and major tranquilizers) used for the management of the schizophrenia as well as the agitation of other psychiatric disorders.; the antidepressant for the treatment and management of depression ;the mood stabilizers majorly for the treatment and management of mania and the variations of the bipolar disorders; anxiolytics for the treatment and management of the anxiety disorders ; psycho-stimulants for the management and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) including the narcolepsy; and the nootropics for the treatment and management of cognitive functions (Ortiz, 2015).

According to the article on the pharmacological treatment of mental disorders in primary healthcare by WHO, the mental disorders are approximated to account for around 12% of the global burden of disease whereas there is proof from the advanced countries that not all the victims of mental disorders receive adequate care and treatment. In the developing countries, mental health services are scarce and hence larger segments of the population have no ready access to health facilities which are based in the urban conditions. In the quest to strengthen the healthcare systems as well as achieving the low cost but efficient and the effective services in health, attention is being focused on the development of the strategies in the primary healthcare. The World Health Organizations (WHO) have reviewed the evidence on the effective treatment of the mental disorders and recommended that a combined pharmacological and the psychosocial approach have a higher chance of yielding favorable results (World Health Organization, 2016).

The world health report presents a variety of recommendations on the way to enhance care for people with mental disorders including the improvement of the access to the limited selection of vital psychotropic medicines. The medicines should be availed to all mental health care facilities with the health personnel trained on how to employ them in the treatment of patients with mental disorders. Creating access to the essential psychotropic medicines is a critical factor in strengthening direct access to effective and efficient mental healthcare access. "Essential psychotropic medicines are those that satisfy the priority mental health care needs of a population. They are selected with due regard to public health relevance, evidence of efficacy and safety, and comparative cost-effectiveness. They should be available within the context of functioning mental health delivery systems, at all times, in adequate amounts, in the appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality and adequate information, and at a price, the individual and the community can afford. Essential psychotropic medicines allow for the treatment of symptoms of mental disorders, shorten the course of many disorders, reduce disability and prevent relapse" (Tripathi, 2013)

The recent cost-effective studies have mainly focused on establishing the relative benefits of the newer classes of medicines over the more established and older ones. For example, the newer antidepressants were analyzed in comparison with the older tricyclic antidepressants and the modern antipsychotics to the conventional ones. From the article, findings show that newer psychotropic medicines can have different or fewer side effects, they are usually more expensive and not significantly more effective. The decision in prescribing the pharmacological treatment of the disorders must consider the potential risks as well as the benefits of every patient concerned. The providers of healthcare must discuss with the patients, patients carers and the family members the said potential risks and benefits. Generally, the health care providers should consider that most disorders related to psychiatry can be effectively tackled by means of the non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions. The prescription of the psychotropic agent has no implications that the psychosocial or psychological interventions have not been indicated. Consequently, the physicians in healthcare should not passively take medications as their sole strategy in therapeutic in addition to this the patients should not be given suggestive messages for modification of thoughts, moods, and conduct which can be delivered for the mental treatment.

Titrations of most pharmacological treatment of the mental disorders need to be done gradually particularly in victims with the contaminant medical illnesses. The least effective prescription should be done both on assessment of the amount required to effect the target symptoms and of the social, psychological and the geographical situation of the patient I.e. patients of the rural areas who must make a big journey for treatment will need a more abundant supply than one with easier access to a pharmacy. Upon prescription, the patients should be notified of the possible side effects and additionally be informed of the possible measures to manage them, i.e. giving them full assurance that some of the side effects are temporal or reduction in the dose. Healthcare providers should be aware that other pharmacological treatments for mental disorders are actually under international control. Besides, it is the responsibility of the medics to ensure that there is an exclusion of the possibility that the abuse disorder makes the basis in the contraction of the psychotic symptoms.

From the above analytic discussion on mental illness, there exist some impact of the disorders on the client care/nursing. One of the impacts is the stigma of the client by the patients; stigma is a mark of shame disgrace or disapproval. This often causes discrimination and rejection. The stigma is often what keeps the healthcare personnel and nurses from providing the care the all the patient with the mental illness are entitled to receive. Many people are often reluctant in offering support and empathy to people with mental illness. The nurses, as well as other healthcare providers, become mistrustful and uncomfortable while associating with an identified mental health disorder. Besides, the patients with mental disorders can trigger the clients or nurses into responding inappropriately to the patients affecting the nurse-patient interaction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, therefore, from the above research, it is clear a large number of treatments are available for the pharmacological management of mental illness. Among these treatments, many have been shown to be efficient in the acute stages and also in prevention of the relapses. However, there are also some uncertainties with regards to the long-term treatment and the management of common mental disorders. Hence, not all effective psychiatric therapies are essential which may become clarified once factors like advantages over cheaper options, long-term applications' effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness are understood better.

References

Tripathi, K. D. (2013). Essentials of medical pharmacology. JP Medical Ltd.

Torrey, W. C., Drake, R. E., Dixon, L., Burns, B. J., Flynn, L., Rush, A. J., ... & Klatzker, D. (2015). Implementing evidence-based practices for persons with severe mental illnesses. Psychiatric services, 52(1), 45-50.

World Health Organization. (2016). Pharmacological treatment of mental disorders in primary health care. World Health Organization.

Ortiz, B. I., Shields, K. M., & Clauson, K. A. (2015). History of Pharmacological Treatments for Mental Health.