Mental health medicines are prescription drugs used to improve your mental and behavioral health. There are many different kinds. They fall into a few basic categories.

• Antidepressants: These treat depression and other mood and anxiety disorders. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We may also use these to treat chronic pain or sleep problems.
• Anti-anxiety drugs: These treat anxiety. We may use them to treat generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or social phobia.
• Antipsychotics: These treat psychosis, which causes a break with reality. People with psychosis experience hallucinations and delusions. We may use antipsychotics for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe or treatment-resistant depression.
• Mood stabilizers: These ease and prevent mood swings. Often used for bipolar disorder, depression, and schizoaffective disorder.
• Stimulants: These treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by increasing alertness, focus, and energy. Parents may worry that stimulants may lead to misuse or addiction. When taken as prescribed, stimulants are safe and effective.
• Ketamine: This drug can treat severe and treatment-resistant depression. It's a fast-acting option that works in hours instead of weeks. We offer it at our mental health clinics.

Also, other drugs may be helpful for people with mental health issues, even if they're not made for them. For example, high blood pressure medicines can treat anxiety. Seizure drugs are also used to stabilize mood.

Medication management is the act of prescribing, monitoring, and adjusting your medicines. Only certain types of healthcare professionals can prescribe and manage your mental health medicines. A therapist, counselor, or social worker cannot prescribe drugs. 

As part of your care, we work to ensure your care plan is safe, effective, and tailored to your needs. We also work to reduce side effects.

Care team members who can prescribe medicine and provide management include:

• Psychiatrists (MDs and DOs): These are medical doctors with training in mental and behavioral health care.
• Psychiatric or mental health advanced practice nurses (APRNs): These registered nurses have advanced mental and behavioral health care training.
• Primary care (MDs, PAs, NPs): Your primary care team can also prescribe medicine.

Not everyone with mental health issues needs medicine. Some people only need talk therapy or support groups to get better.

It's common for mental health care to include drugs and talk therapy. Taking medicine can help talk therapy work better. Some people may only need them for a short period.

Some people with mental or behavioral health issues need them long-term. Without medicine, they may find it difficult to do activities of daily living.

Your care team can go over whether and when mental health medicines may help you.

Most of the time, we start with first-line options for your specific health issue. These drugs are the most effective with the least risk of side effects.

To help us narrow down which medicines make sense for you, we will:

• Go over your medical history, including other medicines and supplements you take
• Review bloodwork, imaging tests, and heart function tests

It takes time to find the right medicine at the right dose. It will also take time to work—most take 1 – 2 months before they reach their full effect. After that time, we'll review how you're feeling. We'll then make changes as needed until we find the one that works for you.

It's also common for your needs to change over time. If you think your medicine is no longer a good fit, talk to your care team.

Risks and side effects of mental health medicines

It's common for these drugs to cause side effects. Most side effects are mild and go away on their own as your body adjusts to it. We'll go over what side effects you can expect and which ones are serious and require immediate care.

Some mental health medicines have more serious risks. In that case, we may monitor your health through regular bloodwork and more frequent follow-up care. Don't stop taking your medicine without talking to your doctor first.

What happens when mental health medicines don't work?

Sometimes, the medicines don't work, even if we adjust the dose. Sometimes, they may stop working. This means your condition is treatment resistant.

Our team can help you review your next options for treatment-resistant mental health issues.