Antidepressants - GCSE Psychology Definition

What are antidepressants?

In GCSE psychology, antidepressants are a form of medication used to prevent and treat depression and some other conditions (e.g., anxiety, OCD).

Antidepressants are a form of biological intervention. A patient who will typically have been diagnosed with depression is prescribed an antidepressant drug that will work on the physical cause of their disorder, e.g. dysfunctional brain chemistry. Antidepressants are widely used as a way of re-balancing neurochemicals in the brain to restore the patient’s balanced mood.