Complete List of Schizophrenia Medications

Tanya J. Peterson

If you’re looking for a thorough list of schizophrenia medications, you’ve found it.

Medication is currently the foundation of schizophrenia treatment. Other types of treatment, such as therapy and social skills training can be helpful, but they don’t do anything for the symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia medications can and do help relieve the symptoms of this serious mental illness.

On the list of schizophrenia medications below, you’ll find each type and what it’s used for.

Schizophrenia Medications List by Category

Researchers in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry haven’t yet discovered the cause of the brain illness we call schizophrenia. Nor have they found a cure for schizophrenia. Medication, therefore, is used to lessen the symptoms and negative effects of schizophrenia on people’s lives.

Many different medications have been developed to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. A complete list of schizophrenia medications includes all four types.

Types of Schizophrenia Medication

The four categories of medication used in the treatment of this mental disorder are

Regarding schizophrenia treatment, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antianxiety medications are considered off-label. This simply means that these medications were designed to treat something different but are now used for schizophrenia, too.

Antipsychotics

Of the four types of prescriptions, antipsychotics are by far the main form of schizophrenia treatment. This type of medication works primarily on dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, but antipsychotics work on other aspects of brain chemistry as well, such as serotonin. In doing so, they treat psychosis—the separation from reality that involves such things as hallucinations and delusions (Schizophrenia vs. Psychosis: What’s the Difference?).

Most of the antipsychotics prescribed are known as second-generation medications and are sometimes called atypical antipsychotics. First generation antipsychotics, often called typical or conventional medications, are still in use. Studies show that the newer and older medications are equally effective. The advantage of the atypical antipsychotics is that they can have milder side effects (What About Side-Effects from Atypical Antipsychotics?). They are more expensive, however.

The below list of antipsychotic medications for schizophrenia includes both first- and second generation medications.

Antidepressants

To date, nothing has been able to surpass antipsychotics in reducing psychosis symptoms. While antipsychotics can be helpful in dampening hallucinations and delusions, they don’t help the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms are aspects of someone’s experience as a person that are taken away. Many of the negative symptoms resemble depression; therefore, many doctors add antidepressants to the antipsychotics someone takes.

While it hasn’t been proven beyond a doubt that antidepressants help improve negative symptoms, many people have seen improvement. If you or your loved one is struggling with depression-like symptoms, it could be worth discussing the possibility of adding antidepressants to antipsychotics.

Mood Stabilizers

Mood stabilizers are used to treat bipolar disorder. They’ve also been found to help manage schizophrenia. As part of the treatment plan that includes antipsychotic medication, mood stabilizers can reduce symptoms of schizophrenia.

Anti-Anxiety Medications

Anti-anxiety medications can be helpful when symptoms of schizophrenia return or flare up after having been manageable. This type of medication can shorten a psychotic episode as well as calm anxiety that often corresponds with the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Doctors prescribe them with caution as they can be habit-forming and cause undesirable side effects such as fatigue and balance problems. Also, the dose of antipsychotics often has to be reduced while someone is taking anti-anxiety medication, which might not be the right thing for someone. Each person is different, and the effects of medication can be very different from one person to the next.

Complete List of Schizophrenia Medication

This schizophrenia medications list will help you recognize what pharmaceutical treatments are available so you can look into them and discuss them with your doctor.

Brand names are listed first and capitalized. Generic names follow in parentheses.

List of Top Five Antipsychotics prescribed for schizophrenia (all are second generation).

List of Second-generation antipsychotics (in addition to the five listed above)

List of First-generation antipsychotics

List of Injectable antipsychotics

Some antipsychotics are available in a long-lasting injectable form. This schizophrenia injectable medication list shows you which medications need to be taken, in the doctor’s office, only once or twice a month.

List of Antidepressants

List of Mood stabilizers

List of Antianxiety medications

All of the medications on the above list of schizophrenia medications are approved and use to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. While there are other antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antianxiety medications, not all of them are approved for use with schizophrenia. The antipsychotics, taken alone or with another type of medication, are the main line of treatment for someone with schizophrenia. While they won’t cure this mental illness, they can reduce symptoms and improve the quality of someone’s life.

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2021, December 22). Complete List of Schizophrenia Medications, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, April 20 from https://www.healthyplace.com/thought-disorders/schizophrenia-treatment/complete-list-of-schizophrenia-medications

Last Updated: March 25, 2022

Medically reviewed by Harry Croft, MD