If treatment doesn't help

Information for the public

If treatment does not help, your healthcare professional should try and find out why and may offer you alternative treatments.

Your healthcare professional should check:

that you have been taking your medication as discussed
for other reasons why you are not getting better (such as illness, drinking too much alcohol or taking other prescribed or non-prescribed drugs).

Your healthcare professional should also check how your psychological therapy is going.

If you have tried at least two different antipsychotics and these have not helped, you should be offered an antipsychotic called clozapine. If this does not help, you may be offered a second antipsychotic to take at the same time as clozapine.

If you are receiving care from an early intervention service and your symptoms have not improved, you may continue to attend this service beyond the usual 3 years.