Strategies for long-term treatment with psychiatric medication and their discontinuation
Pharmacological treatment of psychiatric disorders is part of the complex care of patients with mental health problems, in addition to psychotherapy and counselling, behavioral activation and psychosocial rehabilitation. The choice of psychiatric medication and the strategy for its administration should be individualized to the needs of the patient. The strategy for the administration of psychiatric medication should include from the outset considerations about the duration of administration and the possibility of discontinuation. In addition to possible side effects, patients themselves ask when the medication will be discontinued at the first consultation. This neglected topic is coming to the fore with the changing concepts of treatment, cure, and recovery in psychiatry. It is appropriate that the psychiatrist, and not the patient, should be the one who discontinues the medication. Well-conducted, long-term studies are the basis for responsible decisions about when and how to discontinue the medication.
https://doi.org/10.29364/epsy.444
(Fulltext in Czech)
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