Pharmacological treatments of psychiatric illness have been developed and many psychotropic drugs are now on the market. The body of safety information regarding psychotropic agents is so large that it is difficult for clinicians to consider all the details of possible adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in daily clinical practice. Although it is impossible to predict and prevent all occurrences of ADRs, many of them may be preventable. In this context, there is a strong need for compact manuals of diagnosis and treatment for ADRs arising from psychotropic agents that are likely to be used in daily practice. Under the auspices of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, a task force was convened to answer this need. This review focuses on the general considerations of ADRs with psychotropic agents, based on discussions of the task force. We also discuss the guidelines for drug safety monitoring, targeted towards specific psychiatric disorders or patients taking specific classes of drugs. Finally, we introduce the Adverse Drug Reactions Relief System in Japan.
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