Psychopharmacology

This chapter provides an overview of the principles of psychopharmacology, which is the study of drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders. The chapter provides important information related to drug indications, interactions, side effects and precautions, and discusses patient education and the issues of adherence and as-needed (PRN) medication administration. The use of drugs that have a demonstrated ability to relieve the symptoms of psychiatric disorders has become widespread since the mid-1950s (Baldessarini & Tarazi 2001). The pharmacological agents used in current psychiatric practice are the anti-anxiety sedatives, antidepressants, mood-stabilising, neuroleptic and antipsychotic drugs. Collectively, these drugs are referred to as psychotropic medications and are the focus of discussion in this chapter.