Psychology2016

Psychological Therapies 615

Psychopharmacology

the use of drugs to control or relieve

the symptoms of psychological

disorders.

antipsychotic drugs

drugs used to treat psychotic symp-

toms such as delusions, hallucina-

tions, and other bizarre behavior.

Biomedical Therapies

Just as a therapist trained in psychoanalysis is more likely to use that technique, a thera-
pist whose perspective on personality and behavior is biological will most likely turn to
medical techniques to manage disordered behavior. Even psychotherapists who are not
primarily biological in orientation may combine psychotherapy with medical treatments
that are supervised by a medical doctor working with the psychologist. As medical doc-
tors, psychiatrists are almost inevitably biological in perspective and, thus, use biomedical
therapies (directly affecting the biological functioning of the body and brain) in addition
to any psychotherapy technique they may favor. The biomedical therapies fall into sev-
eral approaches and may consist of drug therapy, shock therapy, surgical treatments, or
noninvasive stimulation techniques.

PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY

15. 10 Categorize types of drugs used to treat psychological disorders.

The use of drugs to control or relieve the symptoms of a psychological disorder is called
psychopharmacology. Although these drugs are sometimes used alone, they are more
often combined with some form of psychotherapy and are more effective as a result
(Kearney & Silverman, 1998; Keller et al., 2000). There are four basic categories of drugs
used to treat psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, the manic phase of mood disorders,
and depression.

ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS Drugs used to treat psychotic symptoms, such as hallucina-
tions, delusions, and bizarre behavior, are called antipsychotic drugs. These drugs can
be classified into two categories, the classical, or typical antipsychotics, and newer atypi-
cal antipsychotics. The first of the typical antipsychotics to be developed was chlorproma-
zine. The first-generation antipsychotics caused “neurolepsis,” or psychomotor slowing
and reduced emotionality, and thus were referred to as neuroleptics due to the neuro-
logical side effects they produced (Julien et al., 2011; Preston et al., 2008; Stahl, 2013).
Ta b l e 15. 3 lists several typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs and their side effects.
Ty p i c a l a n t i p s y c h o t i c d r u g s w o r k b y b l o c k i n g c e r t a i n d o p a m i n e re c e p t o r s i n t h e
brain, namely the D2 receptor, thereby reducing the effect of dopamine in synaptic trans-
mission (Julien et al., 2011; Preston et al., 2008; Stahl, 2013). However, because they block
more pathways in the dopamine system than are involved in psychosis, with prolonged
use they tend to cause problems. Such problems include movement disorders similar to
those in Parkinson’s disease, sometimes called extrapyramidal symptoms, and others such
as tardive dyskinesia. Tardive dyskinesia is a syndrome caused by long-term treatment and
can even persist when typical antipsychotic medications are no longer being used. The
syndrome is characterized by the person making facial and tongue movements such as
repeatedly sticking their tongue out, grimacing, or constant chewing, or causing repetitive

THINKING CRITICALLY

After reviewing the questions raised above, describe how you would share the results of

Treatment A versus Treatment B with students who are not psychology majors. What would be

the most relevant points you would share?

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