Approximately 3.5 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Schizophrenia and it is one of the leading causes of disability. Known factors in the development of schizophrenia include: genetic inheritance, structural abnormalities in the brain, unusual alterations in the levels of certain key brain chemicals, and the lack of adequate nutrition during the fetal development. Schizophrenia is a mental illness in which reality is perceived differently and has many different treatment methods.
It is also characterized by the loss of contact with reality. There are many different subtypes of schizophrenia which include: Paranoid, Hebephrenic/Disorganized, Catatonic, and Undifferentiated schizophrenia. All of these subtypes have different symptoms,
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which affect every patient differently. These symptoms are categorized by Positive, Negative, and Cognitive. Positive symptoms are psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations, which are usually auditory; delusions, disorganized speech and behavior. Negative symptoms may include a lack of desire or motivation to accomplish goals, a lack of desire to form social relationships, and blunted affect and emotion. Cognitive symptoms involve problems with attention and memory, especially planning and organizing to achieve a goal. “Cognitive deficits are the most disabling for patients trying to lead a normal life ”(Brain & Behavior Research Foundation). In order to be diagnosed with Schizophrenia you must have at least two symptoms for a length of a month or more. Diagnosis can even take up to six months as the doctor watches symptoms, and rules out other illnesses. To diagnose schizophrenia, a doctor will start by doing a thorough physical and mental examination. The physical examination is very important because of health conditions, such as substance abuse can mimic mental illnesses. In addition to this it is also important because doctors have to rule out other biological disorders, such as Autism. “Autism and Schizophrenia are independent outcomes of the same genetic syndrome” (Scientific American). The first to identify Schizophrenia as a mental illness was Dr. Emile Kraepelin in 1887. Although, she was the first to identify the mental illness, she was not the one who gave the name to it. She used the term “dementia praecox” for people who showed symptoms of Schizophrenia. The illness itself is believed to be traced back all the way to the second millennium before Christ. There are written documents that identify with Schizophrenia that can be traced back to the old Pharaonic Egypt also. “The word ‘schizophrenia’ comes from Greek roots schizo (split) and phrene (mind) to describe the fragmented thinking of people with the disorder.” Eugen Bleuler came up with the term “schizophrenia” in 1911. He changed the name to schizophrenia as it was obvious that Kraepelin’s name was misleading as the illness was not Dementia. His term was also misleading due to the fact that some convey the idea of split or multiple personalities. Not only did Bleuler come up with the name of Schizophrenia, but he was also the first person to describe the symptoms as positive and negative. Medicine is the first line of defense in treating Schizophrenia symptoms.
Studies have shown that medication works best for positive symptoms and not as well for negative ones. Antipsychotics/neuroleptic drugs are a type of medicine that helps restore the function of the brain; which plays an important role in treating Schizophrenia. They do this by reducing or eliminating the symptoms of psychosis (delusions and hallucinations) by impacting the brain chemical called Dopamine. Another medication that is effective in treating schizophrenia is antidepressants. This drug improves symptoms of depression by impacting chemicals associated with emotions, like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Since the 1990s new medicine has been invented, such as atypical antipsychotics. Examples of these antipsychotics are Clozaril, Zyrexa, Seroquel, and Risperdal. The invention of new medication has improved treatment greatly, but the only problem is patients do not want to take them. The patient feels so good that he/she does not want to take them or the side effects are unpleasant. Some believe that they are cured from their illness …show more content…
altogether. Another form of treatment is psychotherapy or “talk therapy” Two types of psychotherapy that are used are Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy and Cognitive Behavioral therapy, which are both very effective , unless the patient is not taking their medicine.
Medication is more effective when combined with talk therapy, considering that it can help change the patient’s negative pattern of thinking. By changing this, it can reduce the risk of rehospitalization and many other factors that cause hospitalization. “On average , a person with schizophrenia who takes medication has a 60% chance of not being rehospitalized’(Joni E.
Johnston). While being hospitalized some patients have brain scans done using MRI equipment to see what areas of the brain are affected by Schizophrenia. “Neuroscientists from the National Institutes of Mental Health and other schizophrenia researchers report seeing up to 25% loss of gray matter in certain areas of the brain”(Healthy Place). They have also discovered three areas of the brain that differed from normal brains. Schizophrenic brains have a more active hippocampus’ and two areas in the frontal lobe are also hyperactive. Another difference between the normal brain and a schizophrenic one is that the fluid-filled sacs surrounding the brain appear to be enlarged. Other than the effects of the brain Schizophrenia affects the patient in many other ways. In children it will cause them to push away their friends and family away; resulting in them becoming withdrawn and no longer willing to take part in social activities. In children and adults their mental ability may decline, leading to inability to pay attention, think abstractly and solve problems. Most people with schizophrenia have poor social skills and are not likely to participate in home and family life or chores. A lot of the time someone with schizophrenia, their family begins to revolve are them and their symptoms. “The lifetime emotional, social, and financial consequences experienced by individuals with schizophrenia have significant effects on their families”(The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing). Every family member responds differently to having a family member with schizophrenia. Some common responses are care burden, fear and embarrassment from symptoms, lack of social support, and uncertainty about the course of the disease. Having someone with schizophrenia in your family not only affects the family’s emotional state, but it can also give them a higher risk of developing the disorder. “People who have a parent or sibling with Schizophrenia have about a 10% risk of developing [Schizophrenia]” (The Merck Manual of Medical Information). Schizophrenia is an exceptionally basic illness, and it is blessed that these days it is less misconstrued. We have gained a superior information of schizophrenia and have discovered that it is for sure an intense and alarming medicinal ailment. The sickness itself is not deadly, but rather can prompt demise. 10% surprisingly who get schizophrenia confer suicide. Many individuals with the sickness wind up in destitution also, for instance, 33% of the destitute populace is America experiences schizophrenia. This demonstrates the side effects of schizophrenia prevent individuals from living ordinary lives, as they wind up distancing themselves. Therefore, a great deal treatment with support is vital for some individual with schizophrenia. The most ideal approach to improve somebody feel is to tell them that they are commendable. Schizophrenia will keep on victimizing millions. Our human services framework can feel the impacts of schizophrenia, as it is the biggest supporter of the cost of hospitalization, and it costs Canada well over $2 billion every year. Luckily, at any rate there is some kind of treatment for this genuine and misconstrued illness. As we keep on performing further therapeutic research we trust that one day there will be a cure for schizophrenia. The most ideal approach to improve somebody feel is to tell them that they are commendable. Schizophrenia will keep on victimizing millions. Our social insurance framework can feel the impacts of schizophrenia as it is the biggest supporter of the cost of hospitalization and it costs Canada well over $2 billion every year. Luckily in any event there is some kind of treatment for this genuine and misconstrued illness. As we keep on performing further therapeutic research we trust that one day there will be a cure for schizophrenia. Until then it is imperative that everybody has a decent information of the theme and know that it is very normal and it is not what the vast majority think it is.
5). While Schizophrenia has been most commonly treated with the use of anti-psychotic medications for decades, cognitive therapy provides an alternative and cognitive psychologist would undoubtedly disagree with Elizabeth’s mother’s decision to medicate her. The way a cognitive psychologist would treat Elizabeth is by the use of therapy and encouraging her to talk about her behaviors and problems as they do not believe that Schizophrenia “is a biological illness that one either has or does not have” (Freeman, 2014, para. 7) and instead the symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions simply represent the patient’s thoughts and feelings (Freeman, 2014). For example, “an individual troubled by hearing voices will be helped to understand what’s triggering these voices, and to develop a more confident, empowering relationship with them” (Freeman, 2014, para.
Classical antipsychotic treatments are commonly used to treat schizophrenic patients with major positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as Thorazine, Haldol, and Stelazine (Gleitman et al., 2011). Antipsychotic treatments are usually administered with a variety of psychosocial treatments including social skills training, vocational rehabilitation, supported employment, family therapy, or individual therapy (Barlow & Durand, 2014). This is to reduce relapse and help the patient improve their skills in deficits and comply in consuming the
Every year one hundred thousand young Americans are diagnosed with the disease schizophrenia (Carman Research). Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is associated with unnatural behavior or thinking . The disease usually affects people during the late adolescence stage or early adulthood, typically during this time they develop the symptoms linked to the disease.
Clozapine and the Treatment of Schizophrenia Clozapine, marketed by the trade name of "Clozaril," is a member of the dibenzodiazepine class of antipsychotic medication, and is one of many types of neuroleptic drugs. Clozapine is an atypical medication because it differs from the older conventional drugs such as Halodol or Lithium. The difference between atypical and the older drugs is because there less neuroleptic activity as a result of more specific receptors utilized. The atypical drugs work effectively to treat psychotic illnesses and tend to have fewer side effects than their predecessors. Clozapine has been found to be the most effective antipsychotic drug for treatment resistant schizophrenia.
According the fourth edition diagnostic manual of mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), the category psychotic disorders (Psychosis) include Schizophrenia, paranoid (Delusional), disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, residual type. Other clinical types include Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Affective Disorder/Manic depression, mania, Psychotic depression, delusional (paranoid) disorders. These are mental disorders in which the thoughts, affective response or ability to recognize reality, and ability to communicate and relate to others are sufficiently impaired to interfere grossly with the capacity to deal with reality; the classical and general characteristics of psychosis are impaired reality testing, hallucinations, delusions, and illusions. Mostly, these are used as defining features of psychosis even if there are other psychotic symptoms that characterise these disorders (L. Bortolotti, 2009).
-Lieberman JA, Stroup TS, McEvoy JP, Swartz MS, Rosenheck RA, Perkins DO, Keefe RS, Davis SM, Davis CE, Lebowitz BD, Severe J, Hsiao JK. Effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in patients with chronic schizophrenia. N Engl J Med. 2005. Web.
For many years schizophrenia was thought to be caused by bad parenting, the so-called "refrigerator mother" was to blame. Today there exists much more information on the disorder and the evidence points to the commonly accepted notion of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Unfortunately, many people still confuse schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder when, in fact, the two are separate. Schizophrenia however, deals more with people who simply don't have a firm grip on reality.
Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder, or cluster of disorders, characterised by psychotic symptoms that alter a person’s perception, thoughts, affect and behaviour (NICE, 2009). Tai and Turkington (2009) define Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as an evidence-based talking therapy that attempts cognitive and behavioural change based on an individualised formulation of a client’s personal history, problems and world views. CBT as a treatment for schizophrenia can be understood within a wider framework of CBT as applied to a range of mental disorders such as anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression (Tai and Turkington, 2009). CBT was built on behavioural principles that emphasised clear relationships between cognition, physiology and emotion (Beck, 1952). This essay will analyse CBT as a therapy for individual suffering from schizophrenia. It will discuss briefly the historical background and the development of CBT, the aims and principles, the evidence base of the strengths and weaknesses of the therapy. It will discuss as well the implication to mental health nursing practice. The focus of this essay is on intervention and psychosocial in nature which will be brought together in the conclusion.
E. Fuller Torrey, author of "The Treatment of Schizophrenia: Medications", believes that even though antipsychotic drugs cannot cure psychosis they do control it. Antipsychotic drugs were introduced in 1952 by a French psychiatrist by the name of Pierre Deniker. These drugs were split into two classes, first generation and second generation. First generations were considered "typical" because of their ability to block dopamine receptors while second generations were referred to as "atypical" for their action on other neurotransmitters. In the beginning, antipsychotics had some serious side effects, which included acute dystonia reactions, EPS, Akathisia and Parkinsonian - like symptoms. New and improved antipsychotic drugs have been created to have the same effectiveness but with fewer side effects. Overall "70 percent improved, 25 percent improved minimally or not at all and 5 percent got worse." The main purpose of these drugs are to "reduce symptoms, shorten hospitalization, and reduce re-hospitalization."
...ected over another because it has less chance of damaging a diseased liver, worsening a heart condition, or affecting a patient’s high blood pressure. For all the benefits that anti-psychotic drugs provide, clearly they are far from ideal. Some patients will show marked improvement with drugs, while others might be helped only a little, if at all. Ideally, drugs soon will be developed to treat successfully the whole range os schizophrenia symptoms. Roughly one third of schizophrenic patients make a complete recovery and have no further recurrence, one third have recurrent episodes of the illness, and one third deteriorate into chronic schizophrenia with severe disability (Kass, 206).
There are several people every year that are diagnosed with a mental disorder. In the world’s entire population, more than one percent of people have been diagnosed with schizophrenia (Brain and Behavior Research Foundation). When thinking of the billions of people in the world, it might not seem like that many people but once the number of those diagnosed is calculated it seems much larger. Currently there are more than seventy million people in the world that have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, only diagnosed. There are probably several more people who have this disorder and have not been diagnosed or are unable to obtain the resources to be diagnosed.
There are perhaps two main prongs to the development of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as an intervention for schizophrenia, the first being based upon the sizable research that centre on family interventions, which have been successful in reducing patient relapse in schizophrenic families (Pilling et al., 2002). Family interventions are important to consider as they became established treatments during a phase where drug treatments were the main focus of attention in this field and so opened the area of non biological treatment for schizophrenia. And as I will touch upon later drug therapies are frequently used to reduce psychotic symptoms and relapse but these treatments rarely provide the answer, with as many as 50% of patients suffering from persistent psychotic symptoms when adhering to pharmacological treatments (Dickerson, 2000).
Stahl, S. M., & Mignon, L. (2010). Antipsychotics: Treating psychosis, mania and depression (2nd ed.).
New drugs are being made in order to address the issue of undesirable and intolerable side effects of conventional antipsychotic drugs. Works Cited Comer, R. J. & Co., Inc. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology. New York, NY. Worth Publishers Nasar, S. (2001).A beautiful mind: the life of mathematical genius and Nobel laureate John Nash.
Treating schizophrenia can be complicated. One of the things that I would recommend first is to look at the client’s medication. He is already taking Risperidone, which treats the symptoms schizophrenia. It seems to be working so I would recommend they continue to monitor his progress. Also, I would recommend individual psychotherapy for the client so he can work on life skills, goal setting, and coping with his diagnosis, etc. Treatment would be focused on improving the client’s quality of life as opposed to curing his schizophrenia. I would also recommend group therapy for the client where he can work on socializing with other clients and dealing with real world problems. As far as the community supports, I would recommend the client