Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders

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The Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders category of the DSM-IV-TR includes disorders which have psychotic symptoms as a dominant part of their presentation (American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text rev., 2000). Disorders in the Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders category include Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Schizophreniform Disorder, Delusional Disorder, Shared Psychotic Disorder, Brief Psychotic Disorder, Psychotic Disorder due to a General Medical Condition, Substance Induced Psychotic Disorder, and Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.

Schizophrenia should be differentiated from Mood Disorders with Psychotic Features because people with a Mood Disorder with Psychotics Features only express psychotic symptoms during a mood disturbance; whereas, people with Schizophrenia have psychotic features during the prodromal, active and residual phases of their episodes (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Schizophrenia is also differentiated from Schizoaffective Disorder because someone with Schizophrenia has mood symptoms which are either brief when compared to the full duration of the disturbance, only occur during the residual or promordal phases, or do not meet the full criteria for a mood episode. Moreover, Schizophrenia is differentiated from Schizophreniform because the symptoms for Schizophreniform are present for one to six months; while people diagnosed with Schizophrenia have had the symptoms for a minimum of six months. Furthermore, Brief Psychotic Disorder is diagnosed when the symptoms have been present for one day to one month. Even though people with Delusional Disorder have delusions similarly to people with Schizophre...

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...isorders category contains several diagnoses which are primarily rooted in psychosis. There are several other disorders which might appear similar to a Psychotic Disorder; hence, diagnosticians need to vigilantly navigate through the person’s case to determine if the psychosis is related to another disorder such as a Substance-Related Disorder or a Mood Disorder, or if the primary focus of clinical attention is due to the psychotic symptoms.

References

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

(4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Liu-Seifert, A., Ascher-Svanum, H., Osuntokun, O., Jen, K. Y., & Gomez, J. C. (2011). Change

in level of productivity in the treatment of schizophrenia with olanzapine or other

antipsychotics. BioMed Central Psychiatry Journal, 11(87), 1-10.

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