• To refresh your understanding of the use of antidepressants in contemporary mental health practice
• To read about updated guidelines on prescribing and discontinuation of antidepressants
• To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)
• To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)
Antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medicine. For some years there has been an upward trajectory in the numbers of prescriptions provided across primary and secondary care. Recent evidence has emphasised the issues associated with long-term antidepressant prescriptions, such as the side effect burden and withdrawal effects. Supporting safe and effective medicines management is an integral part of the mental health nursing role, but the complexity of these medicines and their effects can be overlooked. This article aims to update nurses on the main principles of practice in relation to antidepressants.
Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2024.e1710
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Painter JM (2024) Monitoring the use of antidepressants: the role of mental health nurses. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2024.e1710
Published online: 08 October 2024
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