As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and medical social worker who is often part of a patient’s interdisciplinary healthcare team, when patients’ physicians prescribe medicati0ns to treat mental health conditions, I find it important to consider the patient within their environment in determining whether psychopharmacology is the best option for my patients.
Some questions I consider are:
- Is this a regimen my patient has agreed to?
- Are there bariers to adhering to this regimen?
- How might I help my patient address barriers to adherence?
- Are there other, evidence-based treatment options available to support their treatment?
“The results from this randomized clinical trial comparing a standardized evidence-based mindfulness-based intervention with pharmacotherapy for the treatment of anxiety disorders found that MBSR was noninferior to escitalopram” [Lexapro].
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2798510