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A number of literature reviews exist that support the use of psychotropic medications. This article provides a review of the disconfirming literature regarding psychopharmacology use. Comparing the first review of psychopharmacology published in the counseling field two decades earlier to what is known currently, I examine recent developments in psychopharmacology research focusing on the safety, efficacy, side-effects, and theoretical assumptions of various classes of psychotropic medications. This article concludes by addressing counselor identity, practice and training concerns vis-à-vis psychiatric medications and the medical model.
Ponterotto (1985) published the first article review of psychopharmacology within the counseling literature. He proposed that counselors must become familiar with the current medications (i.e., antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety, and lithium salt agents) used to treat psychiatric disorders, especially given these medications' "increased technology," "more sophisticated empirical validation procedures," and "treatment efficacy" (p. 109). Although many new medications have come onto the market since 1985, more recent literature reviews (e.g., King & Anderson, 2004) discuss the benefits of the use of psychotropic medications with very little discussion addressing the conflicting evidence.
Although Hansen (2005) recently discussed the role of the medical model within the counseling profession and the impact that this adoption will have on our future identity as counselors, there is little discourse concerning the problems associated with psychotropic medications and the adoption of psychopharmacology practices as part of the professional counselor agenda. In this article, I address this problem and encourage counselors to call into question the uses of technology (e.g., brain scans), research methodology, and treatment efficacy of these medications based on the examination of the existing research. Specifically, I suggest counselors investigate rigorously the uses and consequences of these medications regardless of their support or skepticism. In this effort, this article serves as a review of the disconfirming literature of psychopharmacology for mental health counselors to consider. As a caveat, I admit that this article is inherently biased and does not provide supportive evidence for psychopharmacology, which is written elsewhere.
In keeping with the organization of Ponterotto's (1985) article, this article provides counselors with access to information about the safety, side-effects, and efficacy problems regarding the classes of psychotropic medications he presented (i.e., antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety, and lithium salts). In addition, I discuss misconceptions about the mental...