ABSTRACT

Prescribing Mental Health Medication is a comprehensive text for all practitioners who treat mental disorders with medication. This new (third) edition is fully updated and includes a variety of additional chapters.

Prescribing Mental Health Medication covers the latest digital methodologies including Internet-based mental health treatment, electronic medical records and prescriber use of social media. Including information on all psychotropic medications in use in the United States and the United Kingdom, the book incorporates clinical tips, sample dialogues for talking about mental health medications to patients, and information specifically relevant in primary care settings. It looks at:

• how to determine if medication is needed, proper dosing and how to start, stop and change medication

• specific mental health symptoms and appropriate medication

• special populations including non-adherent patients, medication abusers, those mixing alcohol and psychotropics, confused patients, children, adolescents, pregnant women and seniors

• management of medication side effects and avoidance of medication risk

• prescription of generic preparations

• organizing a prescriptive office and record keeping.

The additional chapters in this new edition of Prescribing Mental Health Medication cover topics such as combining specific medications, combining medications and psychological therapies, use of 'natural' substances in mental health treatment, successfully managing patient relapse, and appropriate prescriptions of potentially controversial medications such as stimulants and benzodiazepines.

This practical text explains the entire process of medication assessment, management and follow up for general medical practitioners, mental health practitioners, students, residents, prescribing nurses and others perfecting this skill.

part I|20 pages

The need for this book

part II|142 pages

Medication management start to finish

chapter 3|22 pages

The initial prescriptive interview

chapter 5|22 pages

Starting medication

chapter 6|27 pages

Follow-up appointments and strategies

chapter 8|14 pages

Stopping medication

chapter 9|13 pages

The long-term patient

chapter 11|12 pages

“Natural” substances – do they help?

part III|124 pages

Medicating special populations

part IV|96 pages

Medication dilemmas and their clinical management

part V|106 pages

Competent clinical practice

chapter 24|11 pages

Prescription writing and record keeping

chapter 25|6 pages

Blood levels of psychotropics

chapter 26|6 pages

Generic medications

chapter 27|21 pages

The digital prescriber

chapter 31|5 pages

The way forward