Antipsychotic Treatments: Treatment For Schizophrenia

Larry Stein has said that a cause could be hyprdopamine increase causing nerves fibers destroyed in the brain. With the psychodynamic approach of schizophrenia is the breakdown of the person’s ego. Ego controls the id’s impulses and the compromise of the id and superego. It can cause the person the loose touch with reality and no longer associate with others. The start of hallucinations and not knowing what is imagination from reality. According to post-Freudians “The therapist attempted to bring about a regression to early childhood and then would take on the role of parent/nurturer, thereby coaxing the patient to develop for a second time, the return to adulthood bringing with it a corresponding redevelopment of the ego and reconnecting them with reality.” (Schizophrenia). Next with behavioral theorist according to psychiatric times, “The therapeutic techniques used for patients with schizophrenia are based on the general principles of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Links are established between thoughts, feelings, and actions in a collaborative and accepting atmosphere. Agendas are set and used but are generally more flexibly developed than in traditional CBT. The duration of therapy varies according to the individual 's need, generally between 12 and 20 sessions, but often with an option of ongoing booster sessions. CBT for psychosis usually proceeds through the following phase’s assessment and engagement stage.” (Schizophrenia). During the ABC

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

Schizophrenia is a disease that has plagued societies around the world for centuries, although it was not given its formal name until 1911. It is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are so named because of the presence of altered behaviors, such as delusions, hallucinations (usually auditory), extreme emotions, excited motor activity, and incoherent thoughts and speech. (1,2) In contrast, negative symptoms are described as a lack of behaviors, such as emotion, speech, social interaction, and action. (1,2) These symptoms are by no means concrete. Not all schizophrenic patients will exhibit all or even a majority of these symptoms, and there is some

Despite the advances of antipsychotic medications, schizophrenia is a leading cause of global disability associated with high rates of hospitalizations, depression, and suicide attempts (Statistics Canada, 2015, para. 5). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (2016), “schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves” (para. 1). Additionally, individuals with schizophrenia may experience varied symptoms including: delusions and hallucinations; movement and thought disorders; flat affect and decreased pleasure; and impaired attention and memory (NIMH, 2016, para. 4, 5, 6). The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of nonpharmacological interventions in the population of adults with schizophrenia. Several modalities of nonpharmacological treatments have been examined for efficacy, however our research focuses specifically on the following categories: (a) psychoeducation and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), (b) physical fitness and yoga programs, (c) combined pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies, (d) case management and community services, and (e) technology and relational agents.

In 2008, the FDA approved tetrabenazine, which is used to help treat chorea. This was the first drug approved to treat symptoms of HD ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). Additionally, the use of antipsychotic drugs are used to help lessen the extremity of involuntary movements and help moderate the individuals temperament ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). In contrast, the use of antipsychotics are not used to help treat dystonia and may actually worsen these symptoms by causing stiffness in movement ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). Many individuals with HD also suffer from depression and may be prescribed fluoxetine, sertraline, or nortriptyline ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). Mood swings and anxiety are controlled with the use of tranquilizers and/or lithium ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research,"

Although there is controversy in regards to which type of treatment is most successful in regards to initial episodes of schizophrenia disorder, there are also studies looking into whether or not there are issues associated with receiving no treatment at all. Ho et al. (2003) created a study to determine the effect of a first episode of schizophrenia remaining undetected and untreated for more than one year. It was hypothesized by Ho et al. (2003) that if psychosis has toxicity to the human body, psychosis could have detrimental effects on cognitive functioning and the structure of the brain if left untreated. This study included 156 subjects, all who had not had more than three months of previous antipsychotic treatment and all of which were in the midst of their first episode of schizophrenia. The mean amount of time in which the participants went untreated for psychotic symptoms at the beginning of the experiment was 74.3 weeks. Ho et al. (2003) stated that participants were put through a battery of thirty six cognitive tests in which their scores were scored against other standardized scores. The participants were divided into two groups around the median amount of time in which they were untreated since the onset of their symptoms, which was thirteen weeks (Ho et al., 2003). Neurocognitive tests included tests of verbal, memory and motor skills. Ho et al. (2003) stated that in comparison to each other, the two groups did not differ in any of the cognitive categories

Patients with schizophrenia can engage in conversation with their Mental Healthcare Professional on the benefits of CBT. Cognitive behavioral therapy will provide treatment plans that will enable the patient to live a successful productive life. According to Society of Clinical Psychology, providing the patient with collaborative therapeutic relations, a general understanding of their issues are just a few treatment options that are apart of the Cognitive behavioral therapy. It’s imperative that patients who have schizophrenia learn to live with or manage their symptoms and CBT will create goal setting strategies, offer ways to live among society, and coping skills

p. 79). Etiology of bipolar disorder is the very similar to schizophrenia. It is hypothesized that there are multiple genes that increase the risk of developing a bipolar spectrum disorder but not any one specific gene for depression or mania. One of the known gene coding errors is for the serotonin transporter (SERT) which controls the amygdala’s reaction to external stimuli and can cause the maladaptive over reactions and is a risk factor for developing some form of bipolar disorder when exposed to other stressors (Stahl, 2013. p. 270). The use of atypical antipsychotics does not solely treat schizophrenic psychosis, it is also an effective treatment for depressive psychosis and manic psychosis as seen in bipolar I disorder (Stahl, 2013. p.

Schizophrenia is a long-term, psychotic disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world’s population (Dourish and Dawson, 2014). The condition is characterised by a ‘fundamental disturbance of personality’, as a person suffers from hallucinations (either hearing voices or seeing things that do not exist), delusions, altered perceptions and an overall, quite dramatic, change in behaviour (Tsuang and Faraone, 1997; Roberts, et al. 1993:14.1). The specific signs of schizophrenia can be divided into positive and negative symptoms and cognitive impairment (Köster LS et al., 2014). The positive symptoms are those that are obvious indicators of the disorder and are often seen as the most dramatic, as they become extremely visible to the relatives of a patient, pursuing distressing effects on the sufferer (Tsuang and Faraone, 1997). They are referred to as positive as they are a result of the disease producing an abnormal event, such as the creation of intense thoughts the patient cannot control (Tsuang and Faraone, 1997). However, the negative symptoms and cognitive impairments are just as serious and express the deterioration of normal mental and behavioural manners, such as poverty of speech (Tsuang and Faraone, 1997). Therapeutic treatment for schizophrenia therefore needs to target both of these symptomatic areas, to manage both the mental and behavioural traits. However,

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

45% of people dealing with schizophrenia get treatment. Schizophrenia will get worse if not treated. medication and psychotherapy are ways to treat schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a very serious mental health disorder. There is no cure for schizophrenia however treatments such as antipsychotics and psychotherapy can help to reduce the symptoms. Psychotherapy is not the most desired treatment for schizophrenia patients, but more of an optional treatment that works best with a good medication plan. Psychotherapy can help the patient to stay on their treatment plan, which is one of the biggest challenges for a schizophrenic patient. They learn much needed social skills and it helps them to achieve weekly goals and activities within their community. A trained therapist provides psychotherapy and includes advice, reassurance, education and reality testing into their sessions with each patient (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/index.shtml).

John Doe is a 19 year old college student. He is currently working towards earning a degree in physics. Before all his bizarre thoughts and behaviors started, he seemed to have a great relationship with his family and friends. At college he had a roommate whom he shared the room with. According to his mother and friends, John Doe “used to like to go out with friends” (O’Hea, 2014). As your typical college students, John Doe was known to occasionally have drinks with friends and never been known to have any type of drug or alcohol abuse problems. His parents are what we would consider perhaps being ‘normal’. Although his parents show no history of mental illness, however he has an aunt that has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals over the years due to irregular and strange behaviors. Also, John Doe’s parents shared that his grandfather was believed to have a mental illness due to his odd self-being but died at a very young age in the battle field. As described by his family and friends, John Doe was your typical college students until things took a turn for the worse. John Doe’s mother states that John Doe “went from being ‘normal’ to acting depressed and like had no emotions” (O’Hea, 2014). Although John Doe’s behavior has taken a toll on his life, his family is still very supportive and is determined to work with him, find what the cause of his behavior is in order to get his life back on track.

Antipsychotic medication in dementia patients are linked to sudden cardiac death syndrome. This syndrome is a result of antipsychotics effect on the hearts QT interval. The QT interval is the measure of the heart's electrical cycle. This interval represents ventricular depolarization and repolarization. According to Narang et al (2010), Antipsychotics both typical and atypical increase the hearts QT intervals. A longer QT interval predisposes a person to arrhythmias or improper heartbeat, consequently increasing the risk for Sudden death syndrome. Elderly patients on antipsychotic therapy have double the risk for cardiac death, with this number increasing with age and the dosage prescribed (Narang et

Antipsychotics have been found ineffective in controlling the neuropsychiatric symptoms of DLB and reported to cause agitation, hallucination, drowsiness and Parkinsonism in these studies, and had negative effect on cognition and functional