Psychopharmacology: A mental health professional’s guide to commonly used medications

by Herbert Mwebe

This jargon-free guide is suitable for all trainee and registered health professionals who require knowledge and understanding of drugs used in the treatment of mental health conditions for prescribing or administering purposes. A life-saving book that you can carry anywhere you go! Introductory material provides a background on psychotropic drugs, the etiology of mental illness, some of the commonly used drugs in practice and brief notes on common non-pharmacological interventional options. It also examines the pathophysiology of mental illness and clinical decision making. The central chapters provide comprehensive coverage of all the major medications used in the most common mental health disorders, detailing key drugs and including side effects, average doses, contra-indications and precautions, and clinical management interventions. Case studies, multiple choice questions and summary tasks in each chapter enable readers to clearly relate theory to practice and thoroughly review their learning. The second edition of this best-selling text has been completely revised to

328 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2021

Reviews

[Marc Sebastian Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although its quite lightweight and slimline, there is a lot of information packed into this book.

Flicking through, what strikes me first of all is actually just how much text there is, often full pages of long paragraphs with barely a bullet-point to separate them. This can make getting into the book a bit of a chore - come armed with some highlighters if you are using this for studying! Not the most accessible format, but readers will no doubt be looking for substance rather more than style anyway.

And to that end, there is plenty of good content to find. Although it is not always laid out in a structure I would use for learning (e.g. we go through all the doses and administrations of the various types of antidepressants individually first, and then go through them all again to discuss the adverse effects, whereas I like to learn all about one type first and then move on), that may just be my personal preference. The coverage is good, and the questions at the end of each chapter are particularly challenging and worthwhile.

I found it worked best for me as a refresher before commencing on some more focussed studying. I'll probably go through it again too. (Or at least my highlighted sections!)