Schizophrenia: Symptoms and Treatment

Introduction

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that affects over 200, 000 Americans each year (MayoClinic.org incorrectly written citation). There are many professionals that work with clients with Schizophrenia. These individuals usually included are a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, vocational counselor, pharmacist, and a primary care doctor are involved in the care of care of people with Schizophrenia citation needed. Schizophrenia is a mental health illness that can hinder the person's ability to make decisions, think clearly, manage emotions and even relate to others.

Schizophrenia can manifest at any age but on average for men the onset of the illness tends to be late teens to early 20s, on the flip side women tend to contract (be diagnosed with) the mental health illness in late 20s to early 30s (Nami.orgincorrectly written citation). People under 12 and over 40 are unlikely to be diagnosed with Schizophrenia. It is possible to live well with schizophrenia what reference supports this information?.

Symptoms

When a person is active in the disease, episodes can be characterized by the client not being able to tell the difference between unreal and real experiences.

Get quality help now

KarrieWrites

Verified writer

Proficient in: Disease

5 (339)

“ KarrieWrites did such a phenomenal job on this assignment! He completed it prior to its deadline and was thorough and informative. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

The frequency of symptoms, severity and duration will vary with the illness but in people with Schizophrenia incident rates of psychotic symptoms that were severe decreased over the lifetime of the patient. Possible chances to increase the symptoms are use of alcohol and drugs, stressful situations and not taking medication as it has been prescribed citation to support this is needed. The symptoms are classified into a few categories they are: Positive psychotic symptoms- this includes hearing voices, paranoid delusions and exaggerated Perceptions, behaviors and beliefs.

Negative symptoms include the inability to speak, make plans, express emotions and even find pleasure. Disorganization symptoms include trouble with logical thinking, confused speech patterns, and possible movements that would be considered abnormal or bizarre. Finally, impaired cognitive function- declining educational performance and problems with attention, memory and concentration (psychiatry.org).

Treatment

Here are a few treatment options when working with a client with Schizophrenia. Medications that are antipsychotic in nature usually come in pill form daily or in liquid form. Clients may receive injections once or twice a month as well. As with any medication some people will have adverse effects at first, but the side effects seem to wear off after a few days. Another treatment is Coordinated specialty care (CSC), this model of treatment will incorporate case management, psychosocial therapies, medication, family involvement and employment and education services. All these factors are aimed at trying to improve quality of life and reduce symptoms (nimh.nih.org incorrectly written citation). Role of the Social Worker.

The role of the social worker goes along with treatment. Most individuals with schizophrenia today are able to live in and participate in the community. Helping them figure out what they need to do to accomplish this is something with which social workers can help. Each person experiences illness differently. Different treatments may be appropriate at different times because of challenges associated with her or his illness. An example of this may a client may want to start treatment with group and individual therapy but make a transition to one or the other. Later, vocational rehabilitation may be useful once that person has the most pressing symptoms under control.

Treatments that social workers can be helpful in is vocational rehabilitation and/or educational assistance. This is often very important for an individual with schizophrenia. In most cases, the onset of an individual's schizophrenia happens at such a time as to disrupt their high school or college education, or it disrupts their entrance into the workforce. Individual therapy where the client is able to talk about the struggles of living with Schizophrenia. Client struggles are something social workers are somewhat of experts on because we are trained to take a broad perspective of different factors associated with those struggles. Group therapy has been shown to be effective for many different problems that a person might experience in life, and there is no exception for individuals with schizophrenia.

Citations needed for the above information Everyone is unique in their own way. It is always important to consider different spiritual and cultural differences when it's time to decide what treatment is appropriate for that individual. Since people are unique having an individual care plan can provide a framework how to address a person's needs. Our country's mental health systems typically do not take individual needs and differences into account, in doing so hinders a person's path to recovery. It is critical to get diagnosed and to obtain treatment as early as possible. The earlier an individual is treated, the better their chance will be of having a complete recovery.