The rise and fall of biological psychiatry

Abstract

Reviews the book, The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story Of Antipsychotics Drugs by author Joanna Moncrieff (2014). The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs locates interpretation of evidence for the effectiveness of antipsychotics, antidepressants, lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder and stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This book charts the all-important transition from the drug-centred to the disease-centred model and its adverse consequences. It is particularly disquieting too to learn of the, rarely commented on, impact of long-term antipsychotic therapy on brain function. The 'withdrawal' effects of discontinuing medication not infrequently induce a relapse in psychotic symptoms and, through their effect on brain chemistry, contribute to the chronicity of psychotic illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)