Psychologists’ and psychotherapists’ perceptions about the benefits and drawbacks of psychiatric medication use

Abstract

This study’s research question is “What are psychologists’ and psychotherapists’ perceptions about the benefits and drawbacks of the use of psychiatric medication?”. This was explored from a qualitative research method technique, using Thematic Analysis (TA) to analyze the data. The data was elicited from psychologists and/ or psychotherapists with diverse areas of expertise. Through TA, the emerging themes from the data revolved around the importance of the multidisciplinary team, the choice of treatment and the experience of the clients. This study concluded that psychologists and psychotherapists recommend medication when needed and that they view psychiatric medication wholly, with both their benefits and drawbacks. Moreover, the social constructionist point of view was automatically brought out where the clients often express how social discourse affects their decision making and their identity.