Kombinationsbehandlung von psychotherapie und pharmakotherapie- Allgemeine grundlagen

When combining pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy several interactions have to be considered. Medications can enhance or hinder the effect of psychotherapy. Benzodiazepines for instance impair learning in animal and human studies. For some disorders pharmacotherapy is usually essential (depression, mania, schizophrenia). Adding psychotherapy to pharmacotherapy can prevent relapse and improve remission rates. For other disorders psychotherapy is the treatment of choice (anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder). Addition of pharmacotherapy can accelerate recovery, especially for treatment refractory patients and for those suffering from secondary depression.