Psychiatry as a branch has been evolving continuously. New medicines, newer psychotherapy/counselling techniques, newer brain stimulation methods are being continuously developed to help patients become better.
Let us take a look at all these newer treatment options in psychiatry.
1 Medicines
Few newer medicines have been approved for treating psychiatric illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder. These medicines have a lower side effect burden and do not seem to affect vital aspects of life such as sexual behaviour. These medicines also seem to have a similar effectiveness in treating psychiatric illnesses.
Depression
One such medicine that has been recently approved for depression is vortioxetine. Of the many advantages that are present for this drug, the most attractive is the fact that it seems to be more useful in patients with depression having difficulty in concentrating, remembering and focusing.
Schizophrenia/Bipolar Mood Disorder
One of the most common problems in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar is that they do not continue medications or even refuse to take medicines. There are a number of reasons for the same:
- Lack of awareness about one’s own illness (lack of insight)
- Patient is feeling better and hence doesn’t feel the need to take medicines
- Multiple medicines are causing multiple side effects
- Medicines are very expensive
- Patients are actively discouraged by society/family members to continue medicines. Fear of being addicted to medicines and other misconceptions.
In order to overcome these challenges, medications are now being available in injectable forms, which can stay in the body up to 30 days, thus eliminating the need to take medicines daily. These are known as Depot preparations and the good news is that most new medicines are being available in depot form.
To know more in detail about these newer advances, please consult your psychiatrist.
2 Psychotherapy/ Counselling Techniques
Many new forms of psychotherapy have come to be practiced recently. Mindfulness has gained a lot of traction in the recent past few years. Mindfulness focuses on being in the present and being able to experience the moment in real time. Thus, it tries to eliminate the concerns about the future which tend to cause anxiety disorders.
Many other types of psychotherapy modules have been developed in the recent past. Please note that when to go for psychotherapy and which module to choose, varies from patient to patient.
Please consult your psychiatrist for more details.
3 Brain Stimulation Techniques
Newer forms of brain stimulation techniques are now available to treat a variety of psychiatric illnesses. The newer forms of brain stimulation include Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS).
Ketamine infusion is also being used extensively to treatment depression which is resistant to treatment.
