Psychiatric medications are like any other medicine your doctor would prescribe: they have beneficial and unwanted (“side”) effects. Antibiotics, which cure potentially serious bacterial infections, can cause nausea. Heart disease medication can cause low blood pressure. Even over-the-counter drugs such as cold remedies can cause drowsiness, while paracetamol can cause stomach problems.
One of the more surprising aspects of medications is how two people taking the same medicine can have such different experiences. One person may have troublesome side effects, while another person finds that the medicine does only the good that it is intended to do. The important thing to remember is this: side effects are possibilities, not certainties. There is no compulsion that a patient must get all, some, or even one of the side effects listed for a drug. Excessive fear about side effects is counter-productive.
There is another issue as well: side effects may be serious and life threatening, or merely annoying. While psychiatric medicines do carry the possibility of inconveniencing side effects, most of them are entirely devoid of serious side effects at prescribed doses. Also, it is important to remember that while beneficial effects tend to get enhanced over time, most side effects tend to diminish over time – in fact, some side effects go away altogether with time. All these considerations require doctors to assess the risk of side effects versus the expected benefit of any medication. In a life-threatening disease, even serious side effects may be worth the risk - psychiatrists are trained to make this risk/benefit analysis.
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. A psychiatrist specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who must evaluate patients to determine whether or not their symptoms are the result of a medical illness, a combination of medical and mental, or a strictly mental one.
A psychologist evaluates,diagnoses, treats, and studies behavior and mental processes. Some psychologists, such as clinical and counseling psychologists, provide mental health care, and some psychologists, such as social or organizational psychologists conduct research and provide consultation services.