After finishing this chapter, students should be able to understand:
The medical model of mental illness has been widely criticized, yet psychotherapeutic drugs are often discussed in the context of this model.
Diagnosis of mental disorders is difficult and controversial, but the DSM-IV provides a standard diagnostic approach for most purposes.
The introduction of antipsychotics in the mid-1950s started a revolution in mental health care and increased interest in psychopharmacology.
The antipsychotics are helpful for the majority of schizophrenics, but they often produce movement disorders, some of which resemble Parkinson's disease.
The major groups of antidepressant drugs are the MAO inhibitors, the tricyclics, and the SSRIs.
Fluoxetine (Prozac) has quickly become the largest-selling antidepressant drug in history.
Lithium is useful in treating mania and in preventing mood swings in bipolar disorder.
The number of people occupying beds in mental hospitals has declined since 1955, largely because psychotherapeutic drugs allow people to be released after shorter stays.
