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Drug classes

Medications for mental health fall into families, and understanding the family is often the fastest way to understand the drug. These pages explain each class on PsychiatryRx: what the medications in it have in common, how they work, how they differ from one another, and where they fit in treatment. The site covers SSRIs, SNRIs, atypical antidepressants, benzodiazepines, ADHD medications, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and sleep medications. If psychiatric medication is new to you, a class page is a good place to start before reading about a specific drug.

Drug class

ADHD medications explained

The two groups of ADHD medication, stimulants and non-stimulants, and how they compare.
Drug class

Antipsychotics explained

What antipsychotics are, and how they are used in bipolar disorder and depression.
Drug class

Atypical antidepressants explained

Antidepressants that work differently from SSRIs and SNRIs, and when they are used.
Drug class

Benzodiazepines explained

What benzodiazepines are, how they work, and why they are usually used short-term.
Drug class

Dementia medications explained

What the FDA-approved medications for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are and what they can and can't do.
Drug class

First-generation antipsychotics explained

What the older, typical antipsychotics are, how they work, and when they're still chosen today.
Drug class

Ketamine and esketamine explained

What NMDA-based antidepressants are, how they work, and where they fit for treatment-resistant depression.
Drug class

MAOIs explained

What monoamine oxidase inhibitors are, why they're still around, and what makes them hard.
Drug class

Mood stabilizers explained

What mood stabilizers are, how they are used in bipolar disorder, and how they differ.
Drug class

Movement disorder medications explained

What the medications for tardive dyskinesia, antipsychotic-induced EPS, and Huntington chorea are, and how they compare.
Drug class

Neurosteroid antidepressants explained

What brexanolone and zuranolone are, how they work for postpartum depression, and how they're different from other antidepressants.
Drug class

Sleep medications explained

What the main sleep medications are, how they differ, and why most are used short-term.
Drug class

SNRIs explained

What SNRIs are, how they work, and how they compare with SSRIs.
Drug class

SSRIs explained

What SSRIs are, how they work, and how the medications in the class compare.
Drug class

Substance use disorder medications explained

What the FDA-approved medications for opioid, alcohol, and tobacco use disorders are and how they work.
Drug class

Tricyclic antidepressants explained

What TCAs are, how they work, and why an older class of antidepressants is still in use.