Many people think that treatment of mental health disorders mostly depends on medication. This is partially true. Why partially? With medication, we are able to reduce or even fully suppress the symptoms, but not to heal psychiatric disorders.
The medication is indispensable in cases of severe psychiatric illnesses. Patients suffering from severe anxiety, depression, and sleeplessness are not accessible for psychotherapeutic treatment. By suppressing patient’s symptoms through medication, we can stabilize their status, paving the way for psychotherapeutic treatment.
Psychotherapy is not a “mental shortcut”; it requires time. During this process, patients have to be fully functional, performing their social and professional duties. However, patients treated only with medication are very likely to relapse even while taking the same dosage that was effective at the beginning.
Monitoring of psychiatric medication at CHMC Dubai
At CHMC, we provide psychiatric medication in Dubai with careful management, selecting the proper medication to minimize or avoid side effects. For the majority of our patients, side effects can be fully prevented.
Psychiatric medications require several weeks to reach their maximum effectiveness. The same applies when reducing the dosage, as their effects on the central nervous system do not stop abruptly. Therefore, treatment with medication for mental health disorders should always begin, taper, and end gradually under close medical supervision.
After suppressing the symptoms with medication, the patient needs several months of psychotherapeutic treatment. After the patient’s sufficient stabilization with medication, along with psychotherapy, the medication dosage can be gradually reduced. We always start the process in small steps, reducing the dosage gradually over a longer period of time.
Combining Psychiatric Medication with Psychotherapy
The combination of medication and psychotherapy is state-of-the-art therapy, providing the best results. Simplifying the process: with medication, we suppress the symptoms, while psychotherapy makes its use obsolete. By using such a method, in most cases the medication can be fully discontinued, and if not, then at least significantly reduced.
Our individualized treatment for challenging mental health disorders is evidence-based, addressing patient’s particular demands. Medication and psychotherapy should be chosen individually. For example, for PTSD treatment, we use EMDR, or trauma-focused psychotherapy. For phobias, CBT or exposure therapy combined with medication will be the best fit.
