There are many different mental illnesses, but schizophrenia is one of the least understood illnesses. Since schizophrenia is one of the least understood illnesses and has many different causes that make it harder for doctors to try and treat the illness, especially if it is not detected early. Just like any other serious illness, schizophrenia is critical to one’s functioning of life if not treated early on, which is why research on schizophrenia is so important. Additionally, schizophrenia is a serious, and complex illness that needs to be studied more in depth. Moreover, the longer schizophrenia is left untreated the more cognitive and social functioning begins to slowly diminish. (Santosh, Dutta Roy, Kundu, 2013). In addition, this social cognitive diminishment can lead to the impairment of the social cognitive ability “Theory of Mind (ToM),” which can make it difficult for one to interact normally with another person (Santosh, Dutta Roy, Kundu, 2013). Theory of Mind (ToM) is a social
According to current research , Schizophrenia is a mental health condition distinguished by vast harm in cognition that place intense limitations on functional recovery (Eack 1). Schizophrenic disorders normally are shown in adolescents or early adulthood and tend to occur in reclusive, isolated individuals ( Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 2). Because schizophrenia is such a problem in society and families, something should be done to help patients and families cope with this disorder (Jungbauer 605). Schizophrenia not only affects the patient , but also the family and community .
According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).
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.
Contrary to popular belief, Schizophrenia is not a mental health disorder but a psychotic based disorder, in which those affected often experience psychosis. Those experiencing psychosis are known to lose touch with reality; this loss often results in delusions and/or hallucinations. This leads one to ask: what are the social stigmas, plausible causes and brain activity differences related to schizophrenia?
The MATRICS project was a national project that pledged to use clinical research and knowledge to do so (Fenton & Marder, 2004; Green, Kern, & Heaton, 2004). Although these studies did demonstrate the connection between cognitive deficits and functional outcomes the guarantee of a cognitive pill enhancing functional outcomes has not yet been developed. Other studies into cognitive remediation have been done using only computerized programs that were to increase vocational functioning by ‘working the brain’ (Bellucci, Glaberman, & Haslam, 2001, Medalia, 2005; Medalia & Choi, 2009; McGurk, Twamley, Sitzer, McHugo, & Mueser, 2007). These studies have promise but they focused exclusively on computerized skill building to improve attention, memory and problem solving through improving the brains ability to change by a process called neuroplasticity, the brains ability to change and improve with brain exercises. There have been many studies that prove neuroplasticity’s efficacy. (Pascual-Leone, Amedi, Frgni, & Merabet, 2005) One of the most famous on London taxi drivers whose Hippocampi were enlarged by navigating London’s streets (Maguire et al., 2000). Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET) (Hogarty et al., 2004) attempted to combine computerized cognitive remediation exercises together with a social cognition group to provide an integrative approach to enhance cognition and social cognition and as a result improve quality of life for clients with Schizophrenia. Results were promising in a two year randomly controlled study with 121 patients with Schizophrenia divided into two groups (n=67CET, n=54EST) one group was given the CET treatment and the other enriched supportive therapy. Results that were particularly
Schizophrenia is not unheard of; there have been many groups that raised the awareness for the disease and institutions that set up clinical trials for people with schizophrenia. Many individuals are affected by it, and they had lived a compromised life. This mental disorder continues to make patients suffer, along with their family and friends. Despite the relevance of this mental disorder in our society, many people have little or no knowledge of it or have many misconceptions about the disorder. As such, this disease will be the topic of interest in this paper. This paper will take into light a recent study regarding schizophrenia that had successfully provided hope that this mental disorder will be cured in the future. The
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
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the primary cause of schizophrenia, its history, origin, symptoms, and treatment. The paper will look at the validity of various treatments used and the successful utilization of cognitive therapy. We will express how successful diagnosis and treatment will only be effective by considering both the roles that biological and environmental factors play in diagnosing schizophrenia, and its effective therapies.
Antipsychotic medications optimizes the patient’s quality of life by ameliorating the symptoms of schizophrenia. The Patient could experiences a social deficits due to their disabled significant functioning in the community, such as “performance of work tasks, social interaction difficulties with other and motivational
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by a variety of symptoms and the disorganization of feeling and thought. It is an incurable disease whose causes are unknown, yet whose effects are mind and body crippling. (Young, 1988, p.13-14) This topic was chosen because it is interesting to study a disorder that worldwide, is viewed as a classic example of madness and insanity. Another reason of interest is because unlike many illnesses, schizophrenia doesn't have a noticeable pattern and its difficulty to be diagnosed as a disease makes the collection of statistics difficult. It is important to learn more about schizophrenia because a significant numbr of people are affected everyday
Approximately 22% of the American population suffers from some kind of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious of these mental disorders, and there are many different kinds of treatment. While all mental disorders offer diagnosis and treatment challenges, few are more challenging than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and puzzling, and has been described as “one of the most challenging disorders to treat effectively.” (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534)
Contemporary research has found that schizophrenic patients display significant social cognition deficits (Frithe, 1992; Fett et al., 2011; Green et al., 2012). Social cognition is a multifaceted concept that includes the mental operations underlying social interactions (Kern & Horan,
Using articles from various studies, Albert Bandura’s article Social cognitive theory of posttraumatic recovery: the role of perceived self-efficacy (2003), discusses the role of self-efficacy in recovering from varieties of traumatic experiences. In the first titled section of the article, Bandura discusses how self-efficacy is the most central belief of human agency. Multiple meta-analytic studies have shown that efficacy is a significant factor in the quality of peoples functioning. Self-efficacy beliefs can influence functioning so pervasively, that it regulates motivational, cognitive, affective, and decisional processes (Bandura, 2003). Additionally, stress reactions, as well as the way individuals cope with threats, is influenced by
Schizophrenia, unlike most disorders, is a standout amongst the most genuine of the mental disorders. It is known that one in a hundred individuals are affected by it, and starts in either youth or early adulthood. Schizophrenia brings social interruption, anguish and hardship to the individuals who experience the ill effects of it, as well as to their family. Under those circumstances, it is known to be the most devastating of all disorders. There are both negative and positive symptoms when it comes to dealing with schizophrenia. Despite the fact that there are various negative indications, the most present one is limitations or absence in thoughts and behaviours that are characteristics in normal functioning. For this