Medication Reassessment

When medications keep changing without a clear reason

This is for adults whose psychiatric medications have been adjusted repeatedly — added, switched, or increased — without a clear, shared explanation of the strategy. It is also for those carrying several medications at once, experiencing side effects that outweigh the benefit, or unsure which medication is actually helping.

A pattern of frequent changes is itself a clinical signal. It often means the underlying question is not the dose, but the diagnosis the medication is meant to address.

Chasing symptoms instead of the formulation

When prescribing is driven by the symptom of the moment rather than a stable formulation, regimens tend to grow. Trials are sometimes stopped before reaching an adequate dose or duration, so a medication that might have worked is recorded as a failure. Diagnostic drift — the diagnosis quietly changing from visit to visit — compounds the problem.

Medical contributors and medication interactions can also blunt response or create side effects that are then treated with still more medication.

Every medication, mapped to a clear target

A reassessment reconstructs your medication history with attention to dates, doses, duration, response, and tolerability — then asks, for each agent, whether the trial was adequate and whether it maps to a clearly defined target. Interactions and cumulative burden are reviewed, and candidates for simplification or deprescribing are identified.

The aim is a rational regimen in which every medication has a reason, a target, and a plan — not necessarily more medication, and often less.

Fewer, better-targeted medications

A good outcome is a regimen you understand: each medication tied to a specific purpose, with measurable goals and clear safety monitoring. Where simplification is appropriate, it is done deliberately and never abruptly.

Careful changes, in step with your team

Any taper or change is planned and gradual, with safety as the priority. The reassessment can be done alongside your current prescriber, with findings shared on request so adjustments are coordinated rather than conflicting.

Common questions