The Treatment Prospects For Schizophrenia

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

There is a considerable amount of different concepts that can be used when thinking about schizophrenia; unfortunately, since it continues to be a misunderstood disorder, there also exist numerous misconceptions about the schizophrenia. The most common misconceptions deal with the treatment options for schizophrenia, the potential recovery rate, and the ability of people who are diagnosed with the disorder or symptoms to live productive and meaningful lives. Though there are no permanent cures to treat the disease, there are certain medications that help manage the symptoms in order to help people lead healthy and satisfied lives. The recovery rate for the disease is also

As we have seen, treatment of schizophrenia with antipsychotic drugs can have impressive results in terms of decreasing active symptoms, although it does nothing to alleviate negative symptoms or to improve cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, this kind of treatment has the drawback of extremely serious and even fatal side-effects. Newer generation atypical antipsychotics offer more hope, as they can treat both active and negative symptoms, and also improve cognitive functioning. Moreover, they have fewer side-effects. However, treatment is complicated by the fact that results are unpredictable; and in addition the side-effects that they do have can be very serious, such as diabetes, which in itself is life-threatening. However, as the potential side-effects are known, the physician has leeway to choose a drug which is a good match for the patient’s clinical profile. Then, once the patient’s symptoms have been much alleviated with an appropriate newer generation atypical antipsychotic, the patient should be able to also benefit from a range of psychotherapeutic interventions. It is argued that this is the best treatment regime to choose, as it is likely to result in the greatest improvement in quality of life, coupled with the lowest risk of potentially devastating side-effects, or of death. This is likely to be better than utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, the results of which are not reliably known – although research has certainly shown that it is less efficacious

The management of schizophrenia is complex and requires an “all-encompassing approach” which should be individualized to meet the needs of a particular patient (Schizophrenia Society of Canada, 2016, para. 5).

Schizophrenia consists of a broad spectrum of diagnostic criteria (both cognitive and emotional dysfunctions) that cause problems in every day functioning (Barlow et al., 2015). This criteria includes the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, and/or negative symptoms, such as diminished emotional expression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The prevalence rate of this disorder is estimated to be in the range of 0.2% to 1.5% in the general population (Barlow et al., 2015).

Antipsychotic medications have become the most effective treatment for the positive symptoms of schizophrenia (Lieberman et al., 2005), but medication non-compliance tends to be a common issue among this population. Approximately one-third of people diagnosed with schizophrenia have been found to be non-compliant with their prescribed medications (West et al., 2005). Medication non-compliance is a very serious issue among this population, as it is associated with relapse, psychiatric hospitalization, and functional outcomes. However, very little is being done to address this issue. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has recently been integrated into treatments for schizophrenia, and several studies have found it to be effective in

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects more than one percent of the population. When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. However, when these symptoms are treated properly, a large portion of those diagnosed will greatly improve over time.

The article was written by Frederick J. Frese III, Edward L. Knight and Elyn Saks; all trained professionals specialising in schizophrenia. This article focuses on schizophrenia and the history and evolution of treatments that have been used. It looks to shed

As with any disorder or sickness patients have various treatment options available to them. It’s always in the best interest of the patient to seek treatment advice from a Mental healthcare professional who has experience on schizophrenia disorder, and who can server the patient effectively. Patients who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia should look into all options available to them before choosing one treatment option in order to experience the best pathway back to a healthy life. Some of the more popular treatment options to help relive symptoms of schizophrenia have been either antipsychotic medications such as Chlorpromazine, haloperidol (haldol), perphenazine (Etafon, Trilafon), and Fluphenazine. Although medications are more common and been around for centuries other treatment options can also provide a more long-term treatment plan with positive outcomes. According to the NIMH antipsychotic medications have been around since the mid 1950’s (2014).

Psychotherapeutic. There is ample research to support many different psychotherapeutic approaches to schizophrenia and they are intended to be used in tandem with medication (Galletly et al., 2016). This style intervention of addresses symptoms not covered by pharmacological treatments and also can support medication adherence which can range from 35% to 74% (Patel, Cherian, Gohil, & Atkinson, 2014). There are individual and group approaches to psychotherapeutic interventions; however, the therapeutic relationship is a constant foundational component for effective treatment for all clinicians due to the

Depending on what type of schizophrenia a person has can determine the symptoms that they have. “The symptoms can be put into three categories which are positive symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive symptoms” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011). Schizophrenia can have positive symptoms which consist of hallucinations, delusions and thought disorders that can be seen in healthy individuals. Negative symptoms are constant disruption of normal behavior along with emotions. Then, the cognitive symptoms which are difficult to recognize and a majority of the time tests has to be run to determine what symptoms or what type of schizophrenia that individual has.

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that cannot be cured but there are various types of treatments that are available for lifetime support. Some of which are, Coordinated Specialty Care treatment which is aims at improving the quality of life by giving psychosocial therapies, family involvement, and education support. These specialists will give a certain type of treatment plan to the patients for them to follow and work together to make therapy decisions. Psychotherapy, and this treatment is a way to help patients understand their illness and manage their symptoms better. There are also different types of psychotherapy called Cognitive Behavioral

Clearly, this is a very serious disorder, which is often utterly incapacitating. Therefore, individuals urgently require efficacious treatment, both for survival and for quality of life, and many different kinds of treatment and therapy are used. This paper will examine the use of two of these, cognitive behavioral therapy and drug therapy, and evaluate which one is better. It will take the position that drug therapy is a more effective therapy for treating schizophrenia than is cognitive behavioral therapy.

Schizophrenia, unlike most disorders, is a standout amongst the most genuine of the mental disorders. It is known that one in a hundred individuals are affected by it, and starts in either youth or early adulthood. Schizophrenia brings social interruption, anguish and hardship to the individuals who experience the ill effects of it, as well as to their family. Under those circumstances, it is known to be the most devastating of all disorders. There are both negative and positive symptoms when it comes to dealing with schizophrenia. Despite the fact that there are various negative indications, the most present one is limitations or absence in thoughts and behaviours that are characteristics in normal functioning. For this