4.1.5 Assessment methods, monitoring, efficacy, and tolerability

Assessment Methods and Monitoring

Assessment Methods in Psychiatry: refer to the various techniques and tools used to gather information about an individual’s mental health status. The purpose of assessment is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the individual’s symptoms, behaviours, and functioning, which will then inform the development of a treatment plan. Common assessment methods include:

Monitoring in Psychiatry: refers to the ongoing assessment of an individual’s progress during treatment. This may involve regular check-ins with a clinician, self-assessment using mood scales, and monitoring of side effects. Monitoring is an important component of treatment because it allows the clinician to make adjustments to the treatment plan as needed based on the individual’s response to treatment.

In summary, assessment methods, monitoring, efficacy, and tolerability are crucial components of psychiatric treatment. The use of various assessment methods helps to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the individual’s mental health status, while monitoring allows for ongoing assessment of progress during treatment. Efficacy and tolerability are important considerations in the development of treatment plans, as they help to ensure that the individual receives the most effective treatment with the least amount of side effects (Schatzberg, 2019).

Efficacy

Efficacy in psychiatry refers to the ability of a treatment to produce a desired therapeutic effect. This is typically measured by comparing the outcomes of an intervention to a control group, or by comparing the individual’s symptoms before and after treatment. Efficacy is an important consideration in the development of treatment plans, as it helps to ensure that the individual receives the most effective treatment possible (Hollon, 2003).

Tolerability

Tolerability in psychiatry refers to the extent to which an individual is able to tolerate the side effects of treatment. This is an important consideration in the development of treatment plans, as side effects can be significant and negatively impact an individual’s quality of life. Clinicians strive to find the most effective treatment with the least amount of side effects for each individual (Gogtay, 2015).

References:

(1) Gogtay, S. N., & Kramer, R. J. (2015). Clinical Efficacy and Tolerability of Antidepressants in the Acute Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 25(Supplement 1), February 2015.

(2) Hollon, S. J., & Thase, M. E. (2003). The Efficacy of Psychological and Pharmacological Interventions for Adult Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. The Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59(11), November 2003.

(3) Schatzberg, A.F., Debattista, C. and American Psychiatric Association Publishing (2019). Schatzberg’s manual of clinical psychopharmacology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.