Psych Meds Made Simple: How & Why They Do What They Do by Ashley L. Peterson is everything you never realized you wanted to know about psychiatric medications!
You can find it on:
- Amazon.com (ebook & paperback – affiliate link)
- Amazon (international)
- Google Play (ebook)
- Kobo (ebook)
- Book Depository (paperback)
- Powell Books (paperback)
If you’re looking for an in-depth psychopharmacology textbook, I highly recommend Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology by Stephen M. Stahl; it’s what’s sitting on my bookshelf. You can find it on Amazon here (affiliate link).
About Psych Meds Made Simple
People living with mental illness are often left out of the loop when it comes to understanding how exactly medications work. This book explains pharmacology in a simplified, accessible way to help you understand the effects, both positive and negative, of psychiatric medications and why these effects occur. It’s everything you didn’t realize you wanted to know about medications!
Psych Meds Made Simple begins with the essentials of pharmacology and then moves on to cover all the major classes of psychiatric medications. You’ll learn why one medication in a particular class might be a better fit for you than another. Are you having weight gain from your medication? You’ll find out why, and what other meds may be less likely to have the same side effect.
I’ve pulled together what I’ve learned in my training as a nurse and (former) pharmacist and years of clinical experience, added in my personal perspective from having taken many of these medications, and distilled it all down to the essential elements you need to know.
I’ve written this book from the perspective that medications can be a powerful tool against mental illness; however, they’re not a cure and they should never be the only tool in your toolbox. The more you know, the better position you’re in to make decisions about your own health and illness.
Chapter List
- Neurotransmitters and receptors
- Psychopharmacology fundamentals – how medications behave inside the body
- Antidepressants
- Mood stabilizers
- Antipsychotics
- Anxiolytics and sedatives
- Stimulants
- Putting the pieces together
Reader Responses to Psych Meds Made Simple
Ratings on Amazon.com as of Aug 27/22
Over 14,000 copies sold!
Purchased this book, very easy to read and understand, particularly for volunteers who are new to mental health. Will purchase 5 more for our volunteers on Amazon – well done Ashley.
@CareinMind on Twitter
The book itself was very user-friendly. I’m a therapist and I can see myself referring to this book as I work with clients who are receiving medication management.
Johnzelle Anderson, LPC, Panoramic Counseling
About Ashley L. Peterson
I began my career in health care as a pharmacist in 2002, but I quickly returned to school to get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. During my 15-year nursing career, I specialized in the field of mental health, working primarily with people with serious and persistent mental illness in both hospital and community settings.
Two years into my nursing career, I was hospitalized and diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Since then, I’ve been passionate about sharing my own experiences to challenge stigma and generate open conversations about mental health and illness.
For my Master of Psychiatric Nursing thesis work, I used a research method called autoethnography to situate my own experiences with mental illness within the context of nursing culture, addressing issues like stigma. I published several papers in peer-reviewed nursing journals based on this work.
Since illness-related disability has brought my nursing career to a close, I’ve shifted my focus to writing and advocacy efforts online.
More from MH@H on Psych Meds
Psych Meds 101 Series
Evidence-Based Treatment
Research can’t tell you what will work for you, but it can tell you what’s got the best chance of working.
- Borderline personality disorder & medications
- Depression treatment:
- Treatment guidelines:
Side Effects
There’s a risk of side effects with any medication, and it comes down to an individual weighing of pros and cons of different options. In some cases, side effects may be an acceptable price to pay for a med that helps.
- Antidepressant side effects & delayed therapeutic effect: there is a rhyme and a reason
- Antipsychotics and the likelihood of weight gain: research findings comparing individual drugs
- Bias in online stories of side effects
- Do I Look Fat in this Seroquel? Psych Meds & Weight Gain
- Living with side effects
- Meds that can cause psychiatric side effects
- Suicide risk with antidepressants – the real story behind the FDA black box warning
More on Medications
- Benzodiazepines: their role in managing mental illness
- Do we know how psych meds work?
- Half-Life: why it matters
- Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression
- Managing Psych Meds: Getting a Dosette
- My version of being pro-medication
- Naltrexone: studies have shown that this opioid blocker has more uses than just addiction, and can help with mental illness symptoms like dissociation
- Nightmares in PTSD: medications that can help
- Our complicated relationships with psych meds
- Pregnancy and psychiatric medication use
- Pharma: the Pharma–psychiatry relationship and the problems with direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising
- Taking psych meds: I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours
- Why Do Psych Medications Stop Working Sometimes?
