Essay On Mental Health Care

By taking the time and educating ourselves, we are eliminating possible misconceptions about the illness. Working with people that have a mental disorder is the best way to understand how and why they act the way they do. While the cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, it is believed that both genetics and environmental factors play a role. Schizophrenia consists of five subtypes; paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Symptoms can range from hallucinations to delusions, and disorganized thinking. Since there is no cure for schizophrenia, treatment is aimed at controlling the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. By starting with a single antipsychotic medication and evaluating the efficacy in four to six weeks, they are able to determine if that medication will work or if they need to try a different one. Once they find out what works, they must adhere to it. Through improved public awareness society can break the pervasive stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illnesses that stand in the way of finding cures and help people with schizophrenia lead full lives they

It has particularly helped in response to the currently increasing costs associated with the rapidly increasing growth of mental health care problems. As mental health care cost continues to increase at a bigger rate compared to other healthcare areas, managed care has made efforts to contain this rising costs. Managed care programs have helped in containing reimbursed mental health care costs offered to employees and their families/dependents (Pires, Armstrong & Meyers, 1998). Managed care for mental health services is usually provided to its providers on a fee-for-services making providers paid on every service billed. Managed care has, therefore, reduce substance abuse care, psychiatric cost, implicitly and hospital use of mental

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).

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

Nordentoft et al. (2013) gathered 547 individuals ranging from 18 to 45 years old and were selected via a central-randomized trial, which basically involves randomly selecting individuals that will be placed in either a control group or experimental group. Criterion for diagnosis consisted of individuals “within the schizophrenic spectrum” (Nordentoft et al., 2013, p. 2), who did not take antipsychotic medication for as long as 12 weeks. Assessment of treatment involved recurring interviews at 1, 2, and 5 years. Interview test batteries that were used were the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, Scales for Assessment of Positive (and Negative) Symptoms, Global Assessment of Functioning, the Social Network Schedule, plus the Interview for Retrospective Assessment of Onset of Schizophrenia, Social Behavior Assessment Schedule, and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness and safety issues surrounding pharmacological and psychological interventions as treatments for psychosis and schizophrenia in children, adolescents, and young adults. This study contrasted different medications and their impacts on patient outcomes - both positive and negative. Furthermore, head-to-head comparisons between medications were made; highlighting which medications had better significant impacts on patients. Also, contrasting psychological interventions taking in to consideration the benefits of family and individual cognitive behavioural therapy were examined in this study.

Before the 1990’s, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was a major form of psychotherapy for anxiety and depression. During the 1990’s, it was introduced as a new form of psychotherapy to tackle medication-resistant symptoms of schizophrenia (Kukla, Davis, & Lyasker, 2014). In this psychotherapy approach, therapists work with patients to identify maladaptive beliefs and behavior, change these maladaptive beliefs and behavior, and then develop coping skills to help the patient learn how to manage remaining symptoms (Kukla et al.,

Schizophrenia is often a chronic relapsing psychotic disorder that disrupts normal thought, speech, and behavior. It is a cluster of severe prolonged mental disturbances that “...is by far the most chronic and disabling of the major mental disorders. This disease may be one disorder, or it may be many disorders, with different causes” (Andreasen & Schutlz, 1999). It is a disease that makes it difficult for a person to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences. In addition, “it enables the person to think logically, to have normal emotional responses to others, and to behave normally in social situations” (Andreasen, 1999). People with schizophrenia may have

Schizophrenia is a severe and persistent mental disorder that has many facets to consider when treating individuals with this condition. The ability to function in different areas of everyday life, both in and out of the home, has been a goal seldom achieved by patients treated for schizophrenia. While new approaches to treatment have been developed that focus on neurocognitive and social cognition, many treatments fail to fully address the social environment and its impact on recovery success. Success is not simply a reduction of symptoms but the improvement of neurocognitive and social cognitive impairment. Neurocognitive aspects include working memory, visual memory, verbal memory, cognitive processing speed and executive functioning.

The Lysaker, Buck Carcione, Procacci, Salvatore, Nicolo, and Dimaggio (2010) purposely conducted the analysis to recognize that psychotherapy can play a bigger role in recovery in patients with schizophrenia in order to help them cope with their dysfunction and live a more meaningful life by improving their metacognition. The authors’ further emphasized that there has been little research conducted to demonstrate its direct relationship with difficult patients such as schizophrenia, but pointed out its common use in non-psychotic population and in personality disorders, which has been proven effective (as cited by Bateman & Fonagy, 2001).

The first group received 3 months of CACR which included 36 computerized sessions. When the 3-month group finished their sessions, they continued with SRT for three more months. The second group received 6 months of CACR which included 72 computerized sessions. All patients were assessed at baseline, after 36 sessions, and after the following 36 sessions (6-month group) or after the last 3 months of SRT (3-month group). Cognitive performance was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). This tested for verbal memory, working memory, psychomotor task, speed of processing, verbal fluency, and executive function/planning. Daily functioning was assessed with the Quality of Life Scale (QLS) which was an interview of 21 items, evaluating interpersonal relationships, instrumental role, and self-directedness. Answers for this interview were obtained by the patient and reviewed with an informant (Buonocore et al., 2017).

There wasn’t a federal database monitoring prescriptions for controlled medications and duplicate refills. The lack of follow through by physicians and the failure to recognize the addiction or underlying mental health condition prevented patients from obtaining the necessary care in treatment programs they needed. The difficulties with access to programs, as well as poor continuity of care providers and treatment planning, created cracks in which a significant percentage of dually diagnosed patients were lost to follow-up or deteriorated to the point inpatient admission was necessary (Lambert, M. T. 2012).

As the cause of schizophrenia is not yet fully understood interventions are based on both research and experience. Antipsychotic medications are commonly used. These can be effective in reducing psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, however do not guarantee absence of psychosis, nor do they cure schizophrenia. Unfortunately, antipsychotics have numerous side effects, which can be extremely difficult to manage, and about 50% of people with schizophrenia have shown poor adherence to treatment (Nose, Barbui & Tansella, 2003). Following recognition of the limitations of pharmacological treatment, more psychological interventions are available. By using a broader therapeutic approach, and a combination of interventions, each person’s health care can be individualised and addressed with a more holistic view. Adherence therapy is one such approach, in which support and management strategies are provided in order to improve adherence to medication. Some other commonly used psychological therapies include cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), supportive psychotherapy, and family intervention therapy (Gray, White, Schulz, & Abderhalden, 2010).

Study shows that people with schizophrenia recover fully, and lots of others people improve to the purpose wherever they’ll live severally, usually with the maintenance of treatment therapy. Fortunately, this accounts for the common cases. However, about 15 percent of individuals with schizophrenia respond only moderately to medication and need intensive support throughout their lives. While others 15 percent don’t reply to existing treatment. New therapies could supply hope for the treatment of those most seriously affected suffers.

How can psychiatrists/therapists improve the outcomes for people with schizophrenia? Treatment strategies must be inclusive of risk identification, early intervention, integrative approach, involvement of the family, person-centered approach, and finally, the therapeutic amendments must be evidence based. (Chien,