Conclusion Pulling It All Together

Compared to other forms of mental health treatment, psychotropic medications are the newcomers. Social workers with clients who are experiencing mental health difficulties must have knowledge of these types of medications, which can help in the fight against mental illness and its subsequent emotional, psychological, and social problems. The upward trend over the last 30 years has been fueled by controlled-medica-tion-based studies that support the assertion that medication alone can be viable as a solitary form of treatment. 

The National Institute of Mental Health provides a user-friendly publication for clients and professionals that gives basic information about numerous mental health medications and what they are used for. The full 

Social workers do not prescribe medications however, their role in protecting clients who use prescription medications is crucial for promoting comprehensive and preventive practice. Approximately 125,000 deaths occur each year as a result of not taking medication as directed (Buppert, 

Another had to do with the sources of information that were available to clients. Most prescribers felt that the more questions a client asked the better, and that much of the necessary information could be shared by other health care professionals (pharmacists, nurses, and other members of the health care team). These prescribers also expressed concerns about the type of information available and thought that clients should be carefiil about believing everything they read because much of the available information may not be well referenced and that television advertisements and pamphlets promoting specific products could be misleading. 

Social workers need to take a more active role in this area in order to protect and educate their clients. McGrath s study (1999) highlights that prescribers are interested in increasing compliance and the availability of medication information to their clients. Yet a frequent debate in the medical industry asks. Who is actually responsible for counseling patients on the negative results of a drug interaction Physicians and pharmacists say that they do not have the time (Barnes, 1999), which means that other 

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