People with a first-episode psychosis (FEP) or who have a diagnosed primary psychotic disorder can experience highly disturbing symptoms that will leave them feeling very distressed. Disruption of social networks and difficulties with work or educational achievement are only a few items on a long list of challenges faced by people who have a mental illness. This can be devastating. There is a high burden associated with psychotic disorders and individuals’ functioning can be greatly impaired (Carrión, McLaughlin, Goldberg, & et al, 2013). Evidence has shown that early interventions are key in the rehabilitation of people who have experienced a FEP and that early interventions promote quality of life and social functioning (Carrión et al., 2013; Wisdom, Manuel, & Drake, 2011). However, many of those programs lack an education support component and this widens the gap in the continuity of care for young adults with a mental illness. In this paper, I will explore the issue of education goals in young adults who have a mental illness and I will present the case of a patient who presented to the hospital with a FEP and who expressed an interest in …show more content…
Zak is from Africa and immigrated to Canada in 2001 with his family (mother, father, three siblings). Zak graduated from high school with a B average. He lived in Ontario with his family until 2013, and he then moved to Vancouver, BC. He has since lost contact with his family. Zak has been unable to find stable employment, but he has been working on an irregular basis as a general labourer and he is receiving income assistance. He lived in single room occupancy housing (SRO) for two years, but due to the high cost of living, he started living on the street. He has been staying in a youth shelter for the last six months. Zak states that he does not have many friends but that he sometimes plays soccer with the “street kids”
Finkelstein, M. (2005). With no direction home: homeless youth on the road and in the streets. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
The fight for improved health care for those with mental illness has been an ongoing and important struggle for advocates in the United States who are aware of the difficulties faced by the mentally ill and those who take care of them. People unfortunate enough to be inflicted with the burden of having a severe mental illness experience dramatic changes in their behavior and go through psychotic episodes severe enough to the point where they are a burden to not only themselves but also to people in their society. Mental institutions are equipped to provide specialized treatment and rehabilitative services to severely mentally ill patients, with the help of these institutions the mentally ill are able to get the care needed for them to control their illness and be rehabilitated to the point where they can become a functional part of our society. Deinstitutionalization has led to the closing down and reduction of mental institutions, which means the thousands of patients who relied on these mental institutions have now been thrown out into society on their own without any support system to help them treat their mental illness. Years after the beginning of deinstitutionalization and after observing the numerous effects of deinstitutionalization it has become very obvious as to why our nation needs to be re-institutionalized.
To me, Schizophrenia is by far the most frightening disorders in the DSM. Snyder’s account of how he truly believed his delusions, specifically those surrounding the debilitating fear for his life, are hard to image. This presents a challenge for me as a counselor in empathizing with clients who are experiencing this. In reflecting on this dilemma, I came to realize that while I may not be able to understand the fear of my life being in danger, I can relate to the emotion of fear; this can be the connecting point for me to the client. Expressing sympathy is also another tool I have when I am unable to empathize with a client’s thoughts and emotions. Furthermore, Snyder’s narrative reinforced my notion of how insidious Schizophrenia can be. That is to say, that while in many cases this disorder may live traces of itself in childhood and adolescents, in some cases it occurs unexpectedly. Snyder details his normal childhood, including supportive parents, with little to no evidence of any sort of trauma or odd behavior; and yet he was still blindsided with the disease. I began to reflect particularly on how difficult this would be for clients experiencing these same circumstances. It will be essential for me as a counselor to recognize that
Schizophrenia is a deteriorating progressive disease, consequently, it is resistant to treatment for the individual suffering schizophrenia. (Catts & O’Toole, 2016). In most cases the individuals suffering from schizophrenia, are resistive to treatment, in most cases, individuals suffering from schizophrenia, and are resistive in taking antipsychotics. (Catts & O’Toole, 2016). Jeremy doesn’t see himself as a “schizophrenic”, he states that “he’s happy naturally”, and often he’s observed playing the guitar and doing painting in his room. Weekly, he has an intramuscular medication to treat his disorder, crediting the support of his wife. It is indicated that the morality rate, in patients suffering from schizophrenia is higher, despite the considerable resources available, in Australia. New data show that in 20 countries, including Australia, only 13.5% meet the recovery criteria, which means that 1or 2 patients in every 100, will meet this criteria per year. (Catts & O’Toole, 2016). This means that there’s a decline in providing support and services to individuals like Jeremy suffering from a mental illness such as Schizophrenia. Many individuals become severely ill before they realise they need medical treatment, and when receiving treatment it is usually short-term. (Nielssen, McGorry, Castle & Galletly, 2017). The RANZCP guidelines highlights that
People with mental illness are usually thought to be psychotic, crazy, pathetic or even dishonest in the way such that they can use their illness to provoke sympathy and get away with certain things the rest of us can’t (Byrne, 2000, p. 2). These negative stereotypes further enhance the idea that people with mental illnesses are not like us and should be avoided. While it is true some of the more extreme mental illnesses can cause harm to others, most of these disorders are not dangerous to the rest of us, and the people that suffer from them are regular
The Importance of Family and Friends in Helping People with Schizophrenia Maintain a Normal Life
33,000, this is the number of homeless that live on the streets in Canada and 8,000-11,000 of those people are youth in the age range of only 16-24 years of age. This number has increased and grown bigger by the days due to social and economic factors and coming up with a solution becomes more complicated. Many teens become homeless because of hardship in their life or addiction and mental/psychical disabilities, which affects the integrity of that person. This essay will explain the factors of how youth end up on the streets and the harmful effects it can cause and how Canada reacts and helps this problem. The world is discovering how the population of youth on the streets is growing and their trying make many solutions regarding this problem hoping to take many off the streets and start having a healthier better life for themselves.
Stating that an individual has a mental illness can be interpreted many ways, however it is usually defined and understood as a psychological disease or disorder. The severity of the illness determines how much of an individual’s daily functioning will be affected. The ability to care for one’s self, a home or household and the ability to maintain an intimate relationship are lost. Homeless people with mental disorders remain homeless for longer periods of time and begin to have less contact with family and friends. Mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression, can cause a strain on family and other social relationships (Hawkins and Abrams 2007). Studies have examined what the quality of life is like after discovering that one has a mental illness, those who become homeless and other studies focus mainly on treatment options. Suffering with a mental illness makes it more di...
“Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior” (Mayo Clinic). Mental disorders can happen many times through one’s life, but mental illness is classified as an ongoing problem with the symptoms that can affect the ability to perform normal day to day tasks (Mayo Clinic). Many people look at those afflicted with mental disorders as being crazy or clinically insane, while the reality is a problem many people live with on a daily basis with help from medications, psychologist visits, family, friends, help groups, and many other support systems. The lack of support available to mentally ill patients, the more that will refuse treatment and refuse to find help for their disorders. Many people who were born with mental disorders grow up knowing they have a problem, but people who develop them later in age don’t understand how to cope with it.
“One in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in a given year” (~). Society looks at mental illness differently than physical illness. The public stigma that is associated with mental illness can affect the attitude of those with mental health issues and unfortunately, slow down the recovery process. By making the public aware of what mental illness really is, how it affects individuals, their families, and the treatments that are available, the long road to recovery can be shortened.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. “Schizophrenia”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.
The opportunity to expand and refine my nursing knowledge has always equated to me attending the University of Alabama School of Nursing’s masters program. With their master’s degree programs earning the number one spot for Top 50 Best Value, the quality of the programs is undeniable. I selected to apply to the psychiatric mental health track because during my undergraduate studies, I realized this was a career worthy study. My brother was diagnosed with bipolar/schizophrenia at fifteen, and I always questioned his lack of motivation and self-care abilities. It was not until taking the Concepts of Behavioral Health Nursing, that I realized the existence of positive and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, and that apathy and learning disabilities were just as much a part of my brother’s illness as hallucinations or delusions. According to Akiko (2004) “Severity of negative symptoms was significantly associated with worse performance on attention/working memory,”(p. 750). With this
One in five Americans, approximately 60 million people, have a mental illnesses (Muhlbauer, 2002).The recovery model, also referred to as recovery oriented practice, is generally understood to be defined as an approach that supports and emphasizes an individual’s potential for recovery. When discussing recovery in this approach, it is generally seen as a journey that is personal as opposed to having a set outcome. This involves hope, meaning, coping skills, supportive relationships, sense of the self, a secure base, social inclusion and many other factors. There has been an ongoing debate in theory and in practice about what constitutes ‘recovery’ or a recovery model. The major difference that should be recognized between the recovery model and the medical model is as follows: the medical model locates the abnormal behavior within an individual claiming a factor that is assumed to cause the behavior problems whereas, the recovery model tends to place stress on peer support and empowerment (Conrad and Schneider, 2009). This essay will demonstrate that the recovery model has come a long way in theory and practice and therefore, psychological well-being is achievable through this model.
My personal view on mental illness, is an illness that needs care, compassionate, affection, empathy, sympathy and to acknowledge that mental illness exists. As a Psychologist I will bring to the field a wide range of skills such as being very open-minded, diverse, and culturally competent, accept and respect all religious beliefs, non-bias, non-judgmental and able to speak five different languages. I have chosen Mental Health Psychology because I want to make a positive difference and impact on the lives of the children and youth I work with. I support the biopsychosocial model and holistic approach when treating an individual with mental illness. Individuals should be treated as a ‘whole person and not pieces of the puzzle’ if we want to help them get better or be in control of their lives. The treatment becomes effective when addressing the biological, psychological and sociological aspects of the client are
According to the Facts and Numbers page on the National Alliance of Mental Illness website, "One in four adults--approximately 61.5 million Americans-- experience mental illness in a given year. One in fo17-- about 13.6 million-- live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder." (Facts and Numbers). Throughout history people with mental illness have been perceived as lesser than those without mental illness, and thus these people have an innumerable amount of difficulties and challenges to overcome compared to their counterparts with the benefits of pristine mental health. In The Mad Among Us by Gerald N. Grob, he describes the change of the ways of caring for the mentally ill starting from the beginning of institutionalization in the early eighteenth century (Grob 17) to the idea that serious disorders cannot be cured, but alleviating the symptoms "should be able to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of natural self-healing processes." (Grob 311). The lies of people with mental illness are as diverse as the disorders they live with. Unimaginable obstacles are waiting around every corner for people with mental illness.