Behavioral Therapy : An Effective Treatment For The Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia

For most individuals with schizophrenia, a thorough treatment plan is vital to assist with medication adherence, reduce hospitalization and to provide improvement in quality of life. Typically a prescription for antipsychotics is necessary not only to reduce positive

Individuals with Schizophrenia typically use medications to treat his or her symptoms. This paper will examine one newspaper article about research conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health and three peer-reviewed journal articles. This will be done in order to investigate if Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) aids in minimizing symptoms of Schizophrenia more effectively with medication, without medication, and in combination with other therapy styles. These articles propose that CBT should be examined with caution in order to comprehend how it impacts Schizophrenic symptoms. The effectiveness of CBT and reduction of Schizophrenic symptoms could differ in each individual. This is due to numerous factors such as, socioeconomic status, gender, race, environment, family history, and exposure to drugs. It is important to be aware that with every scientific study that is conducted, there may be errors within the study. This may be due to how the data was collected.

Medication is an important treatment for individuals with schizophrenia disorder. Antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and antidepressants are the most popular for treating these individuals (Rubin, Springer, & Trawver, 2010). Because their treatment revolves around medication to help stabilize them, it is important to set up behavioral tailoring interventions. Behavioral tailoring involves cues that remind the individual to take their medication, usually paired with routines (Rubin, Springer, & Trawver, 2010). These routines could be anything from teeth rushing to brushing your hair, and involve set reminders to take the medication (Rubin, Springer, & Trawver, 2010). The adherence to taking the medication has a long-term improvement on their disorder (Rubin, Springer, & Trawver, 2010). Although this is only effective with

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

"All participants were clinicians licensed with a degree in clinical psychology, counseling, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, or social work (Kuller, 2010).” The participants were sent an email, which was received from international society for psychotherapy with schizophrenia, and in the email, they were asked to forward the email to anyone else who fits the criteria, which may be interested in helping with the survey. Everything was submitted electronically and anonymously. The study includes gender, age, type of degree and type of clinical license, years of professional experience, and national affiliation. The main purpose of the study was to assess the use and views of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Seven other treatments were also included; electroconvulsive therapy, family therapy, humanistic/existential psychotherapy, medication, narrative therapy, personal therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The two domains assessed in the treatment of schizophrenia was clinical practice and efficacy. Clinical practices were all yes or no questions. In the domain of efficacy, participant answered questions about the beliefs about efficacy and the research

Schizophrenia stands to be inherently rare, however, the illness is, “among the worlds top ten causes of long-term disability” (Meuser, 2015). The onset of the disorder takes place over a period of approximately five years and during this time, symptoms begin to appear. Schizophrenia has negative, positive, and cognitive symptoms all of which stem from a breakdown in relation between thought, emotion and behavior (Meyer). These symptoms include but are not limited to withdrawal, hallucinations and delusions; without proper treatment a person could potentially become a danger or threat to themselves and those around them, “Because of the disruptive effects of relapses on patients lives, and the

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

Schizophrenia is commonly viewed as a hopeless disease where people who have it never recover. While there is no cure for schizophrenia, there are effective treatments that have been proven successful. Medications, recovery-oriented psychosocial treatments and rehabilitation practices are increasingly helping people with

Generally, the population with psychotic disorders have a poorer medication adherence compared to those with physical disorders (Kane, Kishimoto & Correll 2013). The second Australian national survey of psychosis reported that 91.6% of the population with mental health issues were using psychotropic medication; the non-adherence rate was 11.8%; and the most common given reason for medication non-adherence was forgotten (Waterreus et al.

Adherence to pharmacological treatment is essential for the alleviation of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. To ensure mediational adherence, the social workers started inpatient therapeutic services with CBT counseling. The goal was to assist Peter with identifying and modifying cognitive and motivational barriers to adherence. In this case, insurance, cost, and access was a determining factor that hindered Peter’s adherence. The primary social work was able to utilize their roles as advocates to successful reenrolled Peter into his medical insurance plan. They were able to connect him to a payee and a case management agency. They ensured devilry of Peter’s medication by calling his local pharmacy and arranged Peter’s follow-up appointment

In community psychiatry, nonadherence to antipsychotic medication has been a roadblock to successful treatment of schizophrenic patients for many years. Research evidences proved that antipsychotic medication is substantially effective in relieving psychotic symptoms, and nonadherence is the sole predictor of relapse and readmission. A number of interventions directed at addressing nonadherence show little success. In order to curtail human and economic consequences of medication nonadherence within this population, new treatment modality or program that will significantly improve adherence must be

The issue of whether psychotherapy is effective on schizophrenia has been a widely debated topic. First, Denise Grady says that antipsychotic drugs work far better than psychotherapy for most patients (88). Denise Grady also says that people with schizophrenia are either too sick to be reached by psychotherapy or, thanks to medication, too well to need it (87). Finally, Denise Grady says psychotherapy is useless and harmful to patients in treating schizophrenia (88). Second, Turkington, Kingdon, and Weiden, individual psychotherapy of any form cannot work for schizophrenia. Lastly, Turkington, Kingdon, and Weiden say that people with schizophrenia are too cognitively impaired for psychological approaches. Furthermore, Torrey says that Cognitive

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that affects about 1% of the adult population and carries a high disease burden involving a number of health comorbidities and an average decrease in life expectancy by 12-15 years. Current drug treatments for schizophrenia primarily target the positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, but usually fail to treat negative symptoms such as social withdrawal, difficulty focusing, and lack of motivation. A major research challenge is to better understand the causes of schizophrenia so that more effective prevention and treatment plans can be developed.

Schizophrenia is a public health issue affecting 1% of the world population. Its disorders are characterized in general by distortions of thinking and perception, and by inappropriate or blunted affections. It still raises many doubts, anxieties and prejudices in relatives, friends and the entire society. The importance of overcoming the disease denial and prejudices is essential for the proper development of treatment. Gatherings from psychological and psychiatric observations blend in order to provide an elaborate clarification of schizophrenia. There is not a cure for the disease but medications like antipsychotics and psychological therapies help control the symptoms of the disease. Relatives, friends and all healthcare professionals should be aware of these psychiatric behaviors so a healthy introduction of treatment may be applied to the ill, emphasizing a humanized care.

(CBT) in schizophrenia was originally developed to provide additional treatment for residual symptoms, drawing on the principles and intervention strategies previously developed for anxiety and depression