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.
Australian Institute of Criminology, 2007, The identification of mental health disorders in the criminal justice system, prepared by Ogloff, J.R.P., Davis, M.R., Rivers, G. and Ross, S., Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.
According to the DSM-IV, schizophrenia is classified under the section of “Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders”. Schizophrenia is one of the most serious major chronic brain disorders in the field of mental health; it is a neurological disorder that affects the cognitive functions of the human brain. People living with this incapacitating illness can experience multiple symptoms that will cause extreme strain in their own and their families and friends life. The individual can lose reality, unable to work, have delusions and hallucinations, may have disorganized speech and thought processes, will withdraw from people and activities, they may become suspicious and paranoid, may behave inappropriately in every day social situations. They may neglect personal hygiene and dress improperly, use excessive make-up; every day life is becoming chaotic for everyone involved.
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.
On my arrival in the United Kingdom from my native Zimbabwe, I had my first meeting with an individual with a serious heroin addiction when I found myself sharing a flat emergency accommodation at Lady Beck Close in Leeds. Items of value went missing until the person responsible approached me and accepted responsibility. He apologised for the thefts but explained at length the serious problem with substance misuse that he had. He explained how he dropped from University where he was studying dentistry because of drugs. He expressed his desire to quit but failed despite the care, support and help he received from so many professionals.
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.
A man stands outside of a shop on a busy city street and yells at his reflection while waving his limbs about frenetically. People walk by and write him off as a crazy person; they are trying to ignore the man as they hurry along to their offices. Little do they know that this man suffers from the baffling mental disease commonly known as schizophrenia. This chronic brain disorder affects nearly one percent of Americans and causes delusions, hallucinations, thought disorders, movement disorders, and a disruption of normal emotions and behaviors (“Schizophrenia” NIMH). Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, the man is suffering from ravish delusions caused by his disease. A person afflicted with schizophrenia must acquire treatment, if they hope to regain any degree of normalcy in life. Schizophrenics must first obtain diagnosis of the disease from a psychologist and then start the process of treatment either utilizing antipsychotic drugs or psychotherapy.
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 28. (2000): 315-324. Web. The Web. The Web. 13 Apr 2011.
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.
From the inception of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the social concept of drug addicts or those recovering from abuse as “criminal deviants” is still stigmatized today even though we have gained ground and won the war on dru...
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...
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...
In 1809, physician John Haslam published an account of what he considered “A form of insanity”. Haslam described many symptoms that are relevant to modern day schizophrenia including delusions of grandeur and hallucinations. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, a German psychiatrist named Emil Kraepelin expanded on Haslam’s views and gave a more accurate description of schizophrenia as we know it today. Kraeplin started off by combining terms including different types of insanity under one term: Catatonia, and delusions of grandeur and persecution: paranoia. Kraepelin also separated dementia praecox from manic depressive illness, or bipolar disorder (Barlow, P.470).
At some point a human might have a relative, or heard of someone, or even experienced itself of suffering from Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects many humans throughout the world. People living with this mental disorder may depend on a family member or someone close to take care of him/her. Certain individuals have a good chance of inheriting schizophrenia if a family member appears to show a history of this mental disorder. Unlike others can develop this psychotic disorder while growing up. For instance, a young woman or man may begin to show some signs or symptoms within his/her teen years. Well unfortunately, I have a brother who inherited Schizophrenia and it is extremely difficult to cope with him at certain times.
Center, N. D. (2004, April). Drug Abuse and Mental Illness. Retrieved Febrauary 9, 2011, from Justice.gov: http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs7/7343/7343p.pdf