[Psychopharmaceutic agents in pain treatment]

The chronic pain state can be psychologically induced; on the other hand, pain lasting for months and years can lead to psychopathological alterations. In this context one speaks of the pain-sick patient or of the pain disease. Due to the introduction of psychopharmaca in the treatment of severe chronic pain states, significant progress has been made. Particularly the combination of antidepressants with neuroleptics leads to a substantial reduction of pain. Such a therapy allows substantial savings of analgesics. The indication, the dosage, the mechanism of action and the side-effects of neuroleptics and antidepressants as drugs in the service of pain reduction among patients suffering from chronic pain are covered in the paper.