Despite the rapid advancements in the field of medical science, many aspects of the human condition are still left to be explored. In the last century, the fields of psychiatry, neuroscience and psychology, committed their struggles towards understanding and healing the afflictions of the mind.
Traditionally, the treatment of mental conditions was usually divided into two categories – pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. The former relies on treating mental illness and distress with the use of, as the name suggests, careful implementation of drugs. The latter, however, abstains from the excessive use of chemicals and prefers to utilize other methods. These methods include, for example, the cognitive-behavioral therapy, which assumes that mental conditions stem from illogical patterns of thinking, and aims to fix those patterns. Behavioral therapies (not to be confused with cognitive-behavioral methods) are also utilized, and rely on exposing the patient to their problem.
Recent studies suggest, that the divide between the methods applied by psychiatrists and psychologists is steadily decreasing. This can be clearly noticeable in the new findings concerning the treatment of phobias. Phobias can take many forms. Many are widespread and can be considered simple, such as fear of spiders (arachnophobia) or snakes (ophidiophobia). Others, however can make one’s life extremely miserable, such as ambulophobia – the fear of walking.
In some cases, treatment by exposure through behavioral therapy can be enough to decrease the effects or even completely eradicate a phobia. Nonetheless, serious afflictions require stronger remedies and these were not available – until now. Recent finding suggest that D-cycloserine, an antibiotic most commonly used in tuberculosis treatment can have great effects on those who struggle with phobias. When applied, the antibiotic affects certain receptors in the brain responsible for “unlearning” fear responses. The drug, however, will not treat phobias on its own. In order for it to work, it needs to be used in conjunction with an appropriate cognitive-behavioral, or behavioral therapy. The speeding up of the treatment can be crucial in its overall effectiveness – the faster it is, the less likely the patient is to abandon it.
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| D-cycloserine’s chemical structure. |
These recent developments in phobia treatment, open new possibilities for new, potential advancements in medical sciences. The use of modern drugs combined with new ways of psychotherapeutic treatment make the traditional divide between pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy grow smaller.
Questions:
1. Do you think the divide between the pharmaceutic and psychotherapeutic treatment will decrease further? Will the former replace the latter?
2. Do you think it will be possible to treat more serious mental conditions with drugs?
3. Which do you think is more effective: psychotherapy, or pharmaceutic therapy? Why?
Sources:
https://www.verywellmind.com/d-cycloserine-has-effect-on-phobias-2671933
http://www.fearfreeflying.co.uk/psychotherapyforphobias.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3686620/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_psychotherapy
Comments
Will it be possible? I think it will, but this method could have some negative side effects too. What if a patient will develop some kind of addiction to those drugs. I don't really understand how this aspect of treatment is regulated by a doctor so I suppose there are some predefined dozes but still the whole idea invokes lots of questions.
I think that both methods can be effective, but as I said earlier it all comes to what kind of negative side effects may occur as the result of pharmaceutic therapy.
If operate with information from article, I think so. But I'm not medical student, so I don't considered enough.
2. Do you think it will be possible to treat more serious mental conditions with drugs?
I know that chemical therapy is widely used with mad people. So I think drugs was used for that purpose over decades now, and it's not new technique.
3. Which do you think is more effective: psychotherapy, or pharmaceutic therapy? Why?
I think psychotherapy, because when people can defeat their diseases on their own, it's better.
I actually think that psychotherapy is not very much helpful. I don't believe in coaches, mentors and not very much in psychologists either. I do believe in drugs, however. I think that a mark of evolution is the complete substitution of psychotherapy in favour of pharmacotherapy.
2. Do you think it will be possible to treat more serious mental conditions with drugs?
I think it is easier done with medicine than therapy and words. It is already proven that MDMA and marijuana can work wonders with depression and schizophrenia. Hard mental conditions cannot be treated with regular therapy, I guess.
3. Which do you think is more effective: psychotherapy, or pharmaceutic therapy? Why?
Out of the reasons mentioned above, I believe that pharmacotherapy is more effective.
I think yes, not in the life is constant, and if something better will appear on the horizon, people start to use that.
Do you think it will be possible to treat more serious mental conditions with drugs?
Maybe some day but it is hard to tell because I am not an expert in that topic.
Which do you think is more effective: psychotherapy, or pharmaceutic therapy? Why?
I think pharmaceutic because it influences on symptoms and give immediately effect. Psychotherapy is longer and maybe it is better sometimes it could be considered as less effective.
It's hard to predict, all of the human behaviors are driven by some kind of chemical processes and effects are visible as a phobia or other reaction. But many of them are psychological basis and they are only causing those chemical processes. So I think both will be present in the future, but how close or far away from each other I don't know.
2. Do you think it will be possible to treat more serious mental conditions with drugs?
Maybe, but what will be drug in the future? It may be not only the chemical or biological drug, but may become technological marvel that would be extension or even replacement of the biochemistry.
3. Which do you think is more effective: psychotherapy, or pharmaceutic therapy? Why?
I will not answer this question, because it's the individual judgment for each other illness and person.
Our thinking is hugely influenced by the chemicals in our brans so yes, I think that therapy methods that rely on drugs would be even more effective in the future.
I don't think that any of these is more effective. Both of them are needed to treat people effectively. While psychological treatment would benefit more to some group of patients, it could be much less effective than the pharmaceutical therapy for the others.
2. I think that in the case of drugs, you first need to treat physical dependence and then work with the brain and drugs.
3. My opinion: there is no treatment only by the pharmaceutical method and there are no people who would be helped only by psychological treatment.
Using drugs can strengthen psychotherapy but with my best knowledge: the serious mental illness are results of permanent damage of brain. And the best pills are not able to fix that.
In my opinion psychotherapy is more effective because it can change the way of thinking, when the pharmaceutic therapy just change the feelings od the patient. It’s like with raising a child: good parents, when know what to do, raise good children and fix problems if sth goes wrong. The same psychotherapists: they can change way of thinking, they can “rise” their patients.