Plain-language guides to the antipsychotic medications used to treat schizophrenia, sourced from FDA labeling.
Aristada is a long-acting aripiprazole prodrug with multiple dosing intervals — from every month to every 8 weeks — and a separate Aristada Initio form that can shorten the oral overlap to a single day.
Women's healthPostpartum psychosis affects roughly 1 to 2 in 1,000 births and is a true psychiatric emergency. Recognising it early changes outcomes for the parent and the baby.
MedicationTrifluoperazine, sold as Stelazine, is a piperazine phenothiazine — chemically a cousin of fluphenazine, with similar high-potency D2 blockade and a long clinical track record.
MedicationPimavanserin is unique: it acts only on serotonin receptors, with no dopamine blockade at all. FDA-approved for Parkinson's psychosis, its role in schizophrenia-spectrum care is more limited and worth understanding clearly.
MedicationTrihexyphenidyl is a centrally acting anticholinergic introduced in the late 1940s. It can be very useful for movement side effects, but the long-term cognitive cost matters.
MedicationAsenapine's distinctive sublingual delivery brings its signature side effect: a numb mouth that some patients tolerate easily and others can't. Here's what else to expect.
Medication managementStopping or reducing an antipsychotic can produce three distinct things — discontinuation symptoms, rebound psychosis, and withdrawal dyskinesia. Telling them apart matters.
MedicationIloperidone has one of the lowest EPS profiles among second-generation antipsychotics — but it requires patient titration to manage blood pressure drops. The trade-off defines who it fits.
Drug interactionsCigarette smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that strongly induce the liver enzyme CYP1A2. The result: smokers often need higher doses of clozapine and olanzapine — and quitting can dangerously raise levels.
Lab monitoringClozapine remains the most effective antipsychotic for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but it requires routine blood counts because of a small risk of dangerously low neutrophils. Here is exactly how the monitoring works.
MedicationThiothixene, sold as Navane, is a high-potency thioxanthene antipsychotic with effects similar to haloperidol but a slightly different chemical backbone.
MedicationPerseris delivers a month of risperidone with a single subcutaneous injection in the abdomen — and skips the long oral overlap required by older risperidone LAIs.
MedicationBrexpiprazole is often called a 'cleaner aripiprazole' — same partial-agonist family, smoother receptor profile, and a different feel for many patients.
MedicationBenztropine remains one of the most prescribed adjunctive medications in psychiatric practice — useful for dystonia and drug-induced parkinsonism, but with real cognitive and bowel costs over time.
MedicationIloperidone has a notable orthostatic hypotension profile that requires a slow titration schedule. Once titrated, it tends to be relatively well-tolerated.
Women's healthThe best pregnancy planning happens before pregnancy. For women with schizophrenia, a few months of preconception work can change the trajectory of the entire perinatal period.
Medication managementStopping an antipsychotic is not just a reverse of starting one. The pace, the schedule, and the safety net all matter — and the field's thinking has shifted in the last decade.
MedicationLumateperone is one of the newer antipsychotics on the market — approved in 2019. Its receptor profile is unusual, its side effect burden is generally lighter than many older agents, and the trade-offs are worth understanding.
MedicationLumateperone is the newest atypical antipsychotic on the market — metabolically light, gentle on prolactin, with a side-effect profile that looks favourable but has less long-term data than older agents.
Drug interactionsGrapefruit juice is the textbook example of a food-drug interaction. Several antipsychotics are affected — some seriously enough that the FDA label tells patients to avoid grapefruit entirely.
MedicationThioridazine was once one of the most prescribed antipsychotics in the world. Cardiac and ophthalmic safety concerns pushed it off the front lines starting in 2000, and it is now rarely used.
MedicationAkathisia — the inner restlessness caused by some antipsychotics — is one of the most distressing side effects in psychiatry. Propranolol is one of the few medications with reasonable evidence to treat it.
MedicationAsenapine is unusual in two ways: it is dissolved under the tongue rather than swallowed, and it is also available as a transdermal patch. The route is the whole story.
MedicationHaloperidol is the textbook first-generation antipsychotic — effective, cheap, and unambiguously associated with movement-related side effects. Here's how to think about it in 2026.
Medication managementAntipsychotics are sometimes prescribed to children and teenagers — for early-onset schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism-related irritability, and Tourette's. The decision deserves careful weighing.
Women's healthPregnancy on an antipsychotic is rarely a simple yes-or-no decision. Here is what the research actually shows — and how perinatal psychiatrists think about the trade-offs.
Lab monitoringSeveral antipsychotics raise prolactin, sometimes silently. Knowing when to test, what counts as high, and what the options are takes the mystery out of one of the most common lab findings on these medications.
Drug interactionsCaffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world — and it shares a metabolic pathway with several antipsychotics. Here is what to actually know.
MedicationChlorpromazine, sold as Thorazine in the US and Largactil in Europe, was the first antipsychotic and remains a working option in 2026 — usually for specific situations rather than first-line use.
MedicationChlorpromazine started the modern era of antipsychotics in 1954. Its side effect profile is broad and well-mapped — sedation, low blood pressure, dry mouth, sun sensitivity, and more.