Genetics, Brain Structure, and Behavior: Future Directions

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that places considerable burden on the individuals who have it, their families, and society (Eack 2012). Someone who has schizophrenia may have the following symptoms, but not all: faulty perceptions, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation (Oxford Dictionary). The two most commonly used interventions are drug and family intervention. Often times patients with a

The prevalence of schizophrenia is thought to be about 1% of the population around the world. The disorder is considered to be one of the top ten causes of long-term disability worldwide. Late adolescence and early adulthood are periods for the onset of schizophrenia. In 40% of men and 23% of women diagnosed with schizophrenia, the condition manifested before the age of 19 (Addington, Cadenhead, Cannon, 2007).These are critical years in a young adult’s social and vocational development.

Some organizations and groups have come up to create awareness and sensitivity on schizophrenia. These organizations offer support to both schizophrenics and their families, helping them to cope with the disease. The organizations also provide a means for the schizophrenics to meet, and share their experiences which give them a sense of belonging. They offer education concerning the disease to both schizophrenics and their families, and this helps in managing stressful situations in their lives.

People with schizophrenia start losing interest in family and friends, and withdraw from them as a result (WebMD, n.d.) Withdrawal from family and friends is prominent in their social lives. People who are affected by schizophrenia begin to lose interest in everyday life and activities. This can take the form of sex and relationships, not wanting to leave their house, and a lack of concentration. This can have an adverse effect within relationships. Schizophrenia can also make people have odd changes in sleeping patterns, feeling uncomfortable with people and not wanting to start or continue a conversation (Symptoms of Schizophrenia, 2014). Not only is this prominent in actual relationships, it is seen within social and cognitive functioning. Concentration and communicating is often hindered with people who are affected by schizophrenia (Marsh, n.d.). Distrust in people is often a problem as well. Because of the delusions that is often associated with schizophrenia, individuals can often distrust family members. People may feel paranoid and confused with family relationships or friendships, and will often start to withdraw from these people. As a result, family members can be affected and start to feel hurt and frustrated with the person who has this mental illness. Family members may have a hard time communicating with people who have schizophrenia, and as a result, can tear

Schizophrenia, a chronic severe disabling disorder of the brain affects 1% of the Americans. It stays among the top 10 incapacitating conditions worldwide for adults. In US the expense of treatment and loss of productivity are estimated to be above $60 billion annually. Symptoms are characterized by positive symptoms including delusions, hallucinations and disorganized thinking; negative symptoms including flat affect, asociality, avolition, anergia and anhedonia; cognitive symptoms including poor executive function, poor attention and poor working memory. The typical stages of schizophrenia include a prodromal, active and residual phase.

As for the family psychosocial interventions for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, I would provide the patients and their families with behavioral family management (BFM), crisis management, multifamily groups, and FACT( Family Assertive Community Treatment).

These are few cognitive distortions that are corrected by cognitive behavioural therapy techniques such as

Family therapy began in the 1950’s to help increase the family members’ understanding of the illness as well as the patient’s behavior due to the disease. It is “a form of psychotherapy that tends to focus on the family unit, or at least the parent and child” (APA P Kahn, 1993). This more or less helps the people involved with a person with schizophrenia deal with the disease whereas behavioral therapy assists the patient maintain their own behaviors to be able to live in their communities. It is also referred to as the Token Economy and works most effectively when the person is admitted into inpatient or day hospitals or are living in a half-way house. This form of therapy changes the patient’s behavior with a reward and punishment system and must be monitored and the rewards and punishments controlled. Patients must exhibit a certain behavioral change according to the program that was laid out for them and in turn will receive poker chip like tokens which can be used to buy rewards such as food, television privileges and access to special activities. This program focuses on creating the appropriate social behavior the patient needs to have to enter back into the

Other interventions and treatments that may be introduced once the individual is stable enough on medication to be receptive and benefit from these treatments include: individual therapy, group counseling, family counseling, vocational rehabilitation/training, social skills training, and daily living skills training. It is also important to provide the family with support, education, and the proper intervention skills, to assist them with coping with the difficulties that come with having a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia (Preston, O'Neal & Talaga, 2010).

First, one or more ventricle tends to be enlarged. There are four fluid-filled ventricles in the brain and have the function of cushioning and nourishing the brain. The ventricles are known to expand when other areas of the brain deteriorate, indicating that schizophrenia may be related to brain deterioration. Second, the sulci, which are the spaces between the brain ridges, increase in size. As the sulci increase, the temporal lobes may decrease in size, there may be decreased activation of the amygdala and hippocampus, or the brain’s hemispheres may become asymmetrical. It is still unclear if these brain abnormalities are causes of the disorder, caused by the disorder, or associated with a third confounding

People view patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia as incapable of working with others due to their quirks like short attention spans or loss of attention. Mental disorders affect young adults greatly since around that time they need to create friendships and learn to interact with others. A patient with ADHD tends to lose focus during an easy conversation. They might find something else that seems interesting like a turned on television instead of the conversation itself. If a patient is further isolated by peers, this behavior will worsen due to the lack of communication and lead to individual activities like watching television for hours. However, if the patient was in control of his or her focus, close peers would assist in improving that with frequent discussion and group activities. Next, a patient with schizophrenia experiences hallucinations that at times could endanger the people nearby with chases of imaginary objects or sounds. Making the patient feel separated from peers increases the hallucinations and imaginary sounds enough to appear real and cause more paranoia. Yet, having a regular conversation with the patient and helping to explain what is and isn’t real will reduce these hallucinations. A study in Greece “showed that while 14% of the sample were identified as suffering from specific mental illness… only 13.6 per 1,000 (1.36%) reported having visited a mental health professional the year before the study” (Madianos

Humanistic theory that focuses on the individual in client- centered therapy. The therapist is able to perceive the client as they see themselves and are able to feel empathy towards the client. As far as schizophrenia, the humanistic approach would be to help the client though the stress, thoughts, and feelings that they feel. Although, it is uncertain what exactly causes schizophrenia, scientists generally believe that it is a combination of genetics and environmental factors (Health R. B., 2017). There are two interventions that I will use in Johns case one will be family intervention. Family intervention involves a series of therapy sessions with the individual with schizophrenia and the family and friends involved in the life of the client. Studies have shown that positive benefits of a strong support network are particularly beneficial to help people to cope with symptoms of schizophrenia (Chow, 2015). This invention will be beneficial in John’s case because he and his family and friends have been distant and family is said to be the most vital part of recover. Another would have to be psychotherapy. This intervention is usually recommended in addition to medication. Psychotherapy not can help the client maintain medications but can help them regain social learning and occupational skills. In John’s case this would help him regain the skills necessary for him to gain employment back in to the university (Chow,

Schizophrenia is a disorder that involves a variety of symptoms that can be classified into three overall different areas that affect a person such as cognitive, behavioral and emotional dysfunctions. Persons who are affected by Schizophrenia experience difficulties with impaired occupational or social functioning. These effects of these difficulties can be seen in nearly all areas of one’s life. Individuals who are affected by schizophrenia could display behaviors that do not match the situations; they could display inappropriate affect, may be dealing with a dysphoric mood or are disinterested in food and eating. People who suffer from schizophrenia may also exhibit deficits in memory, language or other executive functions. These deficits may affect individuals by having difficulty with being able to process their thoughts or feelings as quickly as others around them. A diagnosis of schizophrenia makes it difficult for individuals to interact with other as they have impaired abilities to understand inferred meanings in conversations or difficulty interpreting the meanings of the body language displayed by others. These difficulties complicate the already difficult task of interacting with others that those diagnosed with schizophrenia already have.

Individuals with schizophrenia have a difficult time indulging in self-experiences and personal feelings and thoughts. Psychotherapy is tailored to each individual, which means that it assists that person in constructing stories of their lives, including their strengths, challenges, hopes, and losses. Along with the assistance in personal narratives, psychotherapy helps individuals with schizophrenia strengthen their ability to think about thinking, which means that these individuals will be able to think about themselves and others in a more complex and flexible manner (Lysaker et al., 2010). With psychotherapy as a treatment, individuals might be able to better respond to challenges and react appropriately to general threats to self-esteem. If these individuals could do that, they would feel as if they were shaping their lives into something meaningful and holistic, which would drastically help with their

According to the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), schizophrenia is a severe, chronic and debilitating mental disorder characterized by impairment in one’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning, which leads to social and occupational dysfunction (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Prevalence of schizophrenia in the United States is 1.1%, (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2015), and the economic burden related to schizophrenia in the United States is estimated to be more than US$60 billion per year (Chong et al., 2016).