How This Book Is Different

There are several fine psychopharmacology books available, and as a therapist, it is likely you already have one or more of them on your reference shelf. Drugs and Clients differs from the others in a number of important ways:

• The explanations are brief and easy to understand, with a minimum of jargon.

• The focus is how to recognize when a medication evaluation might be needed, how psychotherapy might be affected when clients are taking psychoactive medications, and how the various psychotropic substances, both legal and illegal, might affect the therapeutic process.

• Many clients have sleep difficulties. There are two extensive chapters on sleep which cover the most recent developments in the understanding, diagnosing, and treatment of Sleep Disorders. Most books which focus solely on medications do not discuss treatments for sleep disorders.

• It specifies when medical supervision is needed during withdrawal from both psychotherapeutic and recreational drugs.

• There is a chapter on the senile dementias (esp. Alzheimer's) and the nootropic drugs used to treat them.

• There is a chapter on alternative medications, including the herbs, vitamins, and essential oils that many people are using in the hope of self-medicating psychological problems. Most of these are not covered in psychopharmacology texts.

• For those who are interested, the basic technical information regarding the biochemistry of various classes of drugs, and their proposed mechanisms of action, are located in the Appendices. The references will lead any reader in need of a deeper understanding of any particular drug or topic to many other sources.

• In short, since Drugs and Clients is written by a psychotherapist trained in biochemistry, it is specifically designed to assist psychotherapists in assessing clients as to their need for, and use of, the many legal, illegal, and prescription psychoactive substances that are available today.


A Letter from the Author

Dear Colleagues:

I wrote this book specifically for practitioners who are trained in the art of psychotherapy, especially psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and social workers, most of whom are not familiar with the biochemistry of the vast majority of psychotropic drugs and medications. It is my hope that it will also prove useful to medical doctors, nurses, and the many other health-care professionals who are not trained in the specialty of psychiatry but who are working with clients who may be taking psychoactive medications and/or are using nonprescription psychotropic drugs.

Having taught psychopharmacology at the graduate level for many years, I also had a need for a textbook for use in my own course. I hope it will assist psychology and counseling graduate students outside of my classroom in assessing the need for psychoactive medication and whether the medication a patient may already be taking
is appropriate. (If you are teaching psychopharmacology to psychology and counseling students, please visit the For Educators page on this site.)

To assure optimal treatment, it is vital for psychotherapists to be able to discuss with their clients the option of taking medication in a knowledgeable, and unbiased, way. Equally important is the ability of therapists to recognize in their clients signs of adverse effects of drugs and medications as well as symptoms of substance abuse, physical dependency, and withdrawal.

New psychoactive medications are constantly being developed and marketed. Psychiatrists have extensive training in the biochemistry of these drugs; it is neither practical, nor necessary, for a psychotherapist to learn details such as the specific mechanism of action of every drug, or which neurotransmitter or cellular system is affected. What is important is that the therapist know the class of any drug a client may be taking, whether the drug is appropriate for the presenting symptoms, and to have a referral base of psychiatrists with whom one can collaborate on a collegial basis when the need arises.

The many changes that have taken place in our health care system in recent years, combined with the vast increase in the use of psychoactive drugs, both legal and illegal, has made an understanding of how these substances affect clients far more important for psychotherapists than it has been in the past. It is my hope that
this text will contribute to the optimal treatment of all clients.

Padma Catell, Ph.D.


Drugs and Clients - by Padma Catell, PhD

This book is for anyone who is studying or practicing the art of psychotherapy, particularly Marriage and Family Therapists, Clinical Social Workers, nurses, graduate students, school counselors, and psychologists-all of whom have a need to know how prescription medications and other psychoactive drugs affect their clients.
Click Here to view a sample chapter!

Drugs & Clients
Second Edition
ISBN 978-0929150-8789
284 pages • 6"x9"
Trade Paperback $39.95

Psychoactive Substances and Aromatherapy
8.5"x11" reference card

Common Psychiatric Medications
& Nonprescription Drugs

This invaluable resource lists the most common psychoactive substances by type (BzRAs, MAOIs, opioids, etc.) and the average daily dose range.
Click here for a free downloadable version!

Essential Oils & Their Uses
for Psychiatric Medications

This table lists the most common essential oils (bergamot, lavender, mint, sage, thyme, ylang ylang etc.) being used as aromatherapy for psychological purposes.
Click here for a free downloadable version!

$39.95 Quantity:
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FREE SHIPPING AND FREE PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATIONS
& AROMATHERAPY REFERENCE CARD WITH EVERY ORDER!
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