While the influence of psychological and social factors in mental illness are increasingly acknowledged, medicines have a role to play in helping to alleviate symptoms.
Dr Gill Jenkins last medically reviewed this article in July 2011.
Medicines can reduce the number and severity of symptoms experienced by people with mental illness.
They don't provide a cure, but they do allow for symptoms to be managed and so improve a person's quality of life and help them cope with their condition.
While there are fewer side-effects with newer drugs, it can still be necessary to monitor their effects quite closely or to prescribe other drugs to manage side-effects.
It's always essential to ensure your psychiatrist knows about any other physical health problems that you have, and about any other medicine that you're taking.
If you have any questions about a drug you should discuss it first with your doctor or your pharmacist.
If you still feel that you want more information you could ask to look at a copy of the British National Formulary (BNF). This list, which is updated every six months, shows all the drugs a doctor can prescribe and gives information about:
Your pharmacist may be able to help you look up the drug that you're concerned about.
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Dr Sandra Scott talks about the types of medication prescribed for mental health conditions.
Psychiatric Drugs: Key Issues and Service User Perspectives, Jim Read, 2009. An examination of the lived experience of taking psychiatric drugs. The book explores the consequences of long-term psychiatric drug use from the perspectives of people who have taken them and tried coming off them.
Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs, Peter Lehmann, 2004. This book is about the issue of 'Successful coming down from psychiatric drugs' and primarily addresses treated people who want to withdraw on their own decision.
Learn what therapy is available on the NHS.
The British Psychological Society is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional and educational body for psychiatrists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)is a multi-disciplinary interest group for people involved in the practice and theory of behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy.
The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy enable access to ethical and effective psychological therapy by setting and monitoring of standards.
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