This case study will discuss a client with a Psychotic Disorder. The term psychosis is used to describe a group of severe mental health disorders characterised by the presence of delusions and hallucinations that disrupt a person's perception, thoughts, emotions and behaviour. The main forms of psychosis are schizophrenia (including schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder and delusional disorder), bipolar disorder or other affective psychosis (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Great Britain), British Psychological Society, National Library of Medicine, National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (Great Britain), & Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2011). The client discussed throughout this case study, John Smith (alias for confidentiality) is a 29 year old forensic client who has been given a diagnoses of Schizophreniform psychosis with a differential diagnosis of drug induced psychosis. This is also complicated with John’s limited insight into illness (anosognosia). Gabriel Langfeldt (1895–1983) first used the term “schizophreniform” in 1939, at the University Psychiatric Clinic in Oslo, Norway, to describe a condition with sudden onset and benign course associated with mood symptoms and clouding of consciousness (Strakowski, 1994). The text revision of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) describes schizophreniform disorder as similar to schizophrenia, except that its symptoms last at least one month but less than six months (Barch et al, 2013). Schizophreniform disorder is an acute psychotic disorder that has a rapid onset and lacks a long prodromal phase. Although many patients with schizophreniform disorder may experience functional impai...
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...e result can be alienation and lack of trust,37–39 compounded by cultural misunderstanding. (Snowden, 2003).
In conclusion, John’s risk factors are being well managed by his current assertive psychiatric treatment. It is positive that John does not currently have active symptoms of a mental illness, does not express any negative attitudes, does not display impulsivity and is responsive to treatment. However, John continues to struggle with unresolved grief issues and guilt. Whilst it is positive that John has developed good insight into the impact of illegal substances on his mental state and plans to remain abstinent, given his history he does remain at risk of relapse to substance abuse in the future. It is positive that John is currently compliant with medication and the risk of him being non-adherent whilst under the Forensic Order is relatively low.
At the age of twenty Charles’s experienced his first psychotic break. Not knowing what was happening Mother called the police as she believed the hallucinations and delusions were from marijuana and cocaine use. Charles was taken to the local jail and from there to the hospital when the symptoms remained for 12 hrs. At which time Charles was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Delusion and hallucination in their different forms are the major symptom of psychotic disorders. There is a growing evidence however that these symptoms are not exclusively pathological in nature. The evidences show that both delusion and hallucination occur in a variety of forms in the general population. This paper presents and analyzes the relationship between the above major psychotic symptoms with normal anomalous experiences that resembles these symptoms in the normal population.
According to (Barlow, 2001), Schizophrenia is a psychological or mental disorder that makes the patient recognize real things and to have abnormal social behavior. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms such as confused thinking, hallucinations, false beliefs, demotivation, reduced social interaction and emotional expressions (Linkov, 2008). Diagnosis of this disorder is done through observation of patient’s behavior, and previously reported experiences (Mothersill, 2007). In this paper, therefore, my primary goal is to discuss Schizophrenia and how this condition is diagnosed and treated.
Living with schizophrenia relays on ones ability to distinguish between what is physically real versus the false reality induced by delusions of the mind. Determining the misperceptions of reality that occur such as hallucinations and delusions require persistent effort to distinguish between reality and false perceptions (DSM-5). John Nash, brilliant mathematician and Nobel Prize winner depicts his experiences with Schizophrenia in both the book and movie “A Beautiful Mind”.
Coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1950, the term ‘Schizophrenia’ refers to a group of mental disorders with heterogeneous outcomes. The most prevalent subtype of schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. Typically, this disorder is characterized by psychosis, in which the patient suffers from altered perceptions of reality. According to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – V), the typical subtypes – paranoid, catatonic and disorganized, among others have been eliminated, although the general definition of the disorder remains unchanged. These changes were made due to the clinically diverse prognosis, pathophysiology and etiology of the disorder, which add to its heterogeneity1, 2. In addition, sex of the patient and age of onset of the disorder also contribute to schizophrenia’s diverse effects. The age of onset and sex of the patient heavily influence the demographics and course of paranoid schizophrenia, and in turn are also affected by the patients ethnicity and any premorbid conditions the patient may have suffered1, 3...
Schizophrenia, also known as the splitting of the mind, is a mental disorder characterized by disintegration of thought process and of emotional responsiveness. It manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid and bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it are accompanied by significant social and or occupational dysfunction. It is a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions and hallucinations, and accompanied by other emotional behavioral or intellectual disturbances. There are three main factors that are involved in the diagnosis of schizophrenia: 1-Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, which is a manifestation of formal thought disorder, grossly disorganized behavior or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms, blunted affect, alogia or avolition; 2-Social or occupational dysfunction; 3- Significant duration: continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months; according to the DSM IV. Delusions are a false belief based on faulty judgment about one’s environment. Hallucinations are experiencing something from any of the five senses that is not occurring in reality. Positive and negative (deficit) symptoms are important in diagnosing schizophrenia. Positive symptoms (PS) are not experienced, but are present. Delusions, disordered thoughts and speech, tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory, and gustatory hallucinations or manifestations of psychosis are all positive symptoms. Negative symptoms (NS) are deficits of normal emotional responses and thought processes that normally do not respond to medications. The patient experience a flat or blunted affect and emotion, poverty of speech (alogia), inability to expe...
I am writing this dissertation to discuss the management of people suffering with auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia. I will be looking at different topics, looking into the therapeutic relationship, looking at different approaches to help that person and then working towards the ending of the therapeutic relationship. Chapter 1 of this dissertation, I will aim to look at and explain what schizophrenia is, the cause, the different symptoms and types but trying to focus on auditory hallucinations. Chapter 2 will focus on the building of a relationship with a person suffering with auditory hallucinations using Peplau’s model (1952). Chapter 3 will look at the holistic assessment using the assessment tools which can help identify the symptoms, risks and may then help address the patients needs.
Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions, hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that schizophrenia refers to a “split personality”. The word “schizophrenia” comes from the Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the location of a person’s mind and soul. When the word “schizophrenia” was established by European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term “schizophrenia” to describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to follow because of disordered thinking. Phrases seem disconnected, and ideas move from topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem “empty”. Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs ar...
The first psychiatric schizophrenic treatment is antipsychotic medication, which can reduce the positive symptoms of psychosis, which are disordered thoughts and speech, Delusions, and physical, auditory, visual, and gustatory hallucinations, in about 7–14 days. However antipsychotic medications, fail to significantly improve the negative symptoms, which include:
There are many different diagnoses for mental problems these days from anxiety disorders to eating disorders and from mood disorders to obsessive-compulsive disorders. However, I am choosing to write about schizophrenia disorder because I believe that this type of disorder is one of the most dangerous of all mental problems. Throughout this paper I will describe the criteria doctors use to diagnose somebody with schizophrenia as well as the specific DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. This will include the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia such as the positive, negative, and disorganized symptoms. Also I will talk about the etiology and the medical and psychological treatments for schizophrenia. Lastly I will write about the impact this disorder has on the person and the people around them in the real world.
Schizophrenia has long been known as a psychotic disorder, having five different categories. The symptoms of Schizophrenia can include negative symptoms, hallucinations, disorganized speech and thought patterns. Also abnormal or disorganized motor behavior, and delusions. Many patients experience psychotic episodes, while some never experience psychosis. The objective of this study was to try and determine why
Schizophrenia can be described by a wide-ranging spectrum of emotional and cognitive dysfunctions. These can include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behavior, as well as inappropriate emotions. Consequently, this disease can affect people from all walks of life. Since schizophrenia is such a complex disorder it can ultimately affect a person’s entire existence and their struggle to function daily. With a chronic disease like this, most people have a difficult time functioning in society. This can make it hard for someone who is schizophrenic to relate to others as well as maintain significant relationships. Life expectancy for those who suffer this illness tend to be shorter than average. This is due to the higher rate of accident and suicide. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be broken down into different categories: positive, negative and disorganized. Positive symptoms include hallucinations and delusions. These tend to be the more obvious signs of psychosis. On the other hand negative symptoms indicate deficits or absence of normal behavior which can affect sp...
Mental health complications are common personal traits in human beings. However, there are those that are implausibly real, though they are quite rare to find. Such unusual features include voices, visions, and multiple personalities. According to psychiatrists who will be mentioned in this paper, these psychological disorders are caused by high levels of stress or traumatic situations that happen in the victims ' lives. Voices and visions are sometimes normal dissociations that fade away quickly without the need to see a mental specialist. Nevertheless, those who acquire prolonged dissociations are said to have mental disorders, which make the victim 's life quite a struggle. Although mental health aberrations are not easy to encounter, numerous
...ptoms, tests, and medical history, and recommend medications and psychotherapy for treatment. Schizophrenia is usually confused with split personality. Schizophrenia is a psychosis, a type of mental illness in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined in their heads. At times, patients with psychotic disorders lose touch with reality and just perceive in what they see and what they believe is true. For many patients, the world may seem like a jumble of confusing thoughts, images, and sounds surrounding them. The behavior of people with schizophrenia may be very strange and even shocking towards other people who don’t know the patient. A sudden change in personality and behavior, which occurs when schizophrenia sufferers lose touch with reality, is called a psychotic episode. This psychotic episode is based on “losing of contact with reality” and
Schizoaffective disorder is a psychotic disorder that distorts a person’s perception of reality. Showing itself to be very similar to schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder has symptoms that include hallucination, delusions, and disorganized speech. This disease also shows similarities to affective disorders, such as bipolar disorder with symptoms including major depressive episodes, manic episodes, or these types of symptoms are mixed with those that are found in psychotic disorder. Like schizophrenia and affective disorders, this illness is difficult to treat on the basis of finding what is the cause of the episode, the type of treatment available for schizoaffective disorder, and the adherence to the regimen created for treatment. What shall be done here is to review various literature sources that go into detail of what schizoaffective disorder is and its causes, the types of treatments that are used for people with schizoaffective disorder, and the cooperation of patients with schizoaffective disorder.