All medicines have side effects, including herbal ones. Just because something is "natural" does not mean it's safe.
Those links are quit good, Goldfinch. Frankly, I would not mess around with any herbal preparation, unless it was vetted in a large research based clinical trial and recommended by a physician. There are quite a few medical doctors who practice holistically and might prescribe herbal remedies, if they were found to be safe (i.e. no things like hepatic damage!).
Yes, there are side effects to psychotropic drugs, and most people have to try adjusting dosage, time of administration, or switching to a different medication before they find something that works and doesn't cause annoying or even dangerous side effects. I tell my clients that I am neither pro nor anti medication; it is up to each person to decide for themselves. But, just taking medication without on-going therapy, at least for awhile, is not solving the problem.
I have a friend who is prescribed Lexapro by her Ob-Gyn . She's taken it for years, and it is doing nothing for her escalating mood lability. She thinks it's working, but she doesn't take it as prescribed, i.e. she thinks she only needs to take it when she feels "bad." This person desperately needs therapy and medication prescribed by a mental health provider. My feeling is that a lot of people are getting psychotropic meds this way (from a PCP) and then when they don't work, they just quit and never try anything else, under the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing.