Medication and its efficacy is a very hot topic and these are just my observations over a very  long time period in both private practice and a clinic setting.

My feelings about medication are mixed.  Neurology & chemistry effect how we all see things.  Over the years medication has dramatically helped the very severely disturbed, but for others, the feedback is more ambivalent.  And even for those that ‘really’ need it, the side effects can be daunting.

It is often said that medication changes the black to gray (if one is lucky), but the way people approach their problems and how they interpret themselves and their world, is not changed much by medication – in my opinion.  Pathways that are more adaptive need to be created by self understanding and hopefully by softening the effects of trauma.  This is not easy to do by any means. Tons of CBT work books & self help books attest to how hard it is. It helps to know, but it is no guarantee that it will filter into our beings.  What the brain knows intellectually is very different from what is experienced emotionally.

I often recommend medication in conjunction with psychotherapy and have worked with some excellent psychiatrists.  But I do not push it unless it seems critical.  People I see are often very reluctant if not down right opposed to medication.  Partly because of the side effects but mostly because it feels like that means they are ‘really sick’ and it signifies a loss of self-esteem.  Also, many would like to try more ‘natural’ products.  Often people improve without medication & others decide at a later time to try it.  I have never kept statistics because I never see individuals as numbers.  I have also noticed that for some people, medications that were helpful stop working after about 2 years..  And there are so many medications & cocktails out there that the choices are enough to make you dizzy as well as cautious.

All this being said, there is no question that psychotropic medication has been a godsend for many.  But it is no panacea and for those who think it is, there is often a let down.  There is no magic wand.  If I had one, I would use it.