Early Psychosis Intervention

Most families opt not to involve themselves because of the negative stigma of having a family member with schizophrenia. In addition to this there are many factors that affects attending family intervention due to work hours, lack of time, and transportation considerations and other outside factors (Bleecher, 2009 p 264). Although attending intervention can be very lengthy and time consuming family psychoeducation reduces a great percentage of hospitalizations. Overall, families who involve themselves have an overall better outcome for both the family and the ill member because they are helping the child’s social and emotional health (Bleecher, 2009). The effectiveness of family involvement of individuals with schizophrenia in both individual and family outcomes has been established is as an evidence based practice in the mental health field. There is a need for greater understanding of the barriers to involving families in order to move toward the eventual goal of increased practitioner and family collaboration. Although, there is no sufficient data that can prove this aside from a number of case studies further research must be done.

Substance abuse providers that believe spirituality and religion is one in the same, may hold the belief that an individual that is an atheist or agnostic will not have the opportunity to acquire spiritual opportunities when participating in alcohol and addiction programs (Sussman et al., 2013). In addition, these substance abuse providers may believe that when an individual that eliminates alcohol and drug abuse without the intervention of spiritual assistance, such as a Higher Power, they may believe that the individual will not have the capability to achieve and maintain balance within their sobriety and recovery. Sussman et al. (2013) suggests that these substance abuse providers unknowingly engage in a thought process that includes stereotypes. Suggesting that individuals, who engage in spiritual behaviors that do include a Higher Power, are more deserving of achieving sobriety and recovery because they are practicing by being involved with working the 12-step program, thus, making them more righteous in obtaining a blessing from their Higher Power. Noteworthy, the term spirituality is often linked with religion with no specific boundaries out of lack of knowledge. Engaging in a spiritual practice that allows an individual to have a spiritual solution that is higher than them and gives them hope has a significant influence on alcohol and drug abuse. Gedge and Querney (2014) describe discussing spirituality with

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Family Interventions for Psychosis Psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia are not new in the research literature. Psychological treatments have been previously used in the treatment of schizophrenia. For example in terms of behaviour therapy, operant approaches such as token economy programmes were used in the 1960s and 1970s to improve the behaviour of patients in long stay hospitals. However, the evidence suggests that the clinical gains were limited and did not generalise beyond the therapeutic setting and also did not address delusional convictions (Alford 1986; Himadi et al 1991).

Once hospitalized, SC was enrolled in the Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Program. This pilot provides timely treatment for individuals under 25 who are newly diagnosed, or have untreated psychosis (Vancouver Coastal Health, 2016). SC met these criteria. EPI is based on the idea that if psychosis is recognized and treated early, interventions can limit the potential for ongoing negative consequences (BC Early Psychosis Intervention Program, 2016). Although this was SC’s fourth hospitalization, this was her first time on the EPI. By not being treated effectively on her first admission, her chances of success were reduced. A substantial barrier for EPI is a client’s delay, or refusal to access services (BC Schizophrenia Society, 2012). SC had not been ready to accept treatment during previous admissions. Lappin et al. (2016) also argue that there needs to be available services specifically for young adults early in their illness that also have particular interventions for drug related psychosis. This addictions component is not specifically addressed in the current EPI model. However, it specifically targets young adults.

The program that was evaluated is the Residential Treatment Program for women. The goal of the program is to provide comprehensive treatment services for alcoholism, drug addiction and co-occurring disorders. This program was chosen due to it gender specific treatment for alcohol and drugs exhibited by Serenity Recovery Center. Clients are admitted to treatment voluntary or court mandated and the goal is to assess the success of the residential program for relapse prevention. The goal of the program is to helping people with alcohol, drug addiction, and co-occurring disorders become productive citizens once again. Moreover, another goal is to assist the client with reducing anxiety level upon discharge from the facility.

For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and

After reading the article, it became understandable that the approach to therapy is quite involved and detail oriented. The integration of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with prayer and scripture has the ability to deliver lasting clients with lasting, maintenance-free resolutions. Since, God has created man it would make logical sense for those who are Believers in Christ to refer back to the creator when they feel they are shattered or need repairing. God’s word in the true and the scriptures throughout the Bible, supports and provides healing to the soul.

This paper was prepared for SOWK 615.01: Substance Abuse & Dependency. Taught by Dr. Susan Schoppelrey.

The community agency that I have been assigned to work with for this clinical rotation is the Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Program. Community mental health programs such as EPI, are coordinated and governed under provincial and regional health authorities. EPI in particular falls within Fraser Health’s geographic region. Regional health authorities such as Fraser Health are the governing bodies that are responsible for identifying the population’s health care needs, planning corresponding programs and services, overseeing that said programs are receiving adequate funding and management, as well as meeting performance objectives (Government of British Columbia, n.d.). With special consideration to the mental health

Early onset psychosis is defined as psychotic symptoms within a psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia, bipolar, or other psychoses, appearing in an individual before the age of 18 years old. Psychosis, including schizophrenia, comprises a major group of psychiatric disorder characterized by hallucinations and/or delusions (psychotic symptoms) that alter perception thoughts, affect and behavior, and which can considerably impair a child or young person’s development, relationships, and physical health.

Psychosis is broadly defined as “loss of contact with reality”, (2) with continued debate still on-going to explain the exact mechanism.

There are different stigmas with addictions. “Addiction related stigma affects people in different ways”. “As a result there is a wealth of ways

Koss-Chioino & Hefner (2006) defined spirituality as the search for the sacred. The search is the path that one follows towards the sacred, which most religions claim to offer. The sacred is somewhat ineffable in nature, but in very simplistic terms it refers to the divine (Koss-Chioino & Hefner, 2006). It is important to note that the idea of the divine may vary for different people depending on various factors such as culture, religion, subjective experiences, individual differences, and so on. Regardless of differences between people’s conceptions of the divine, researchers are mostly interested in finding consistent patterns throughout a diversity of spiritual experiences so that it may be applied in clinical settings due to its strong

Thus far, throughout the semester, I have gained so much awareness and understanding for those whom are struggling with substance misuse. Addiction has played a major role in my immediate family life. Over the years, I have realized that addiction does not discriminate on a basis of race, gender, or social status. Based on my personal experiences, the perspective I have of addiction is that it is like a disease. It does not just affect the individual; it also affects everyone the individual comes into contact with. Addiction overall, is not just associated with drugs and alcohol, it is present with gambling, Internet use, sex, or even food (Van Wormer, 2013). In order to understand an individual who suffers from substance misuse, a therapist must first know the definition of addiction, be able to asses and diagnose a client with an addiction, explore the bio-psychosocial-spiritual aspects of their addiction, laws and ethics related to their addiction, and provide the proper treatment that will help them to recover. Throughout this paper, from a bio-psychosocial-spiritual perspective, I plan to explore the causes of Gia’s addiction to Heroin. In addition, I will examine my personal perspective on addiction and what treatment interventions and laws and ethics might come into play in therapy with Gia. Overall, I hope to provide Gia with an understanding of her addiction and provide the proper treatment on her road to recovery.

The involvement of spirituality in an individual’s life is an indicator that it is an unlimited resource to which all persons have access, and hence it has a positive implication for the practice of psychology and healing. (Gang, 2010) states that one must follow certain spiritual principles to receive maximum healing benefits from the spiritual world. He also stated that the healing techniques works on the soul organs and cells, they also work on the emotional body to heal emotional imbalances on the mental body to heal mental imbalances such as