Active Psychosis Psychopharmacology Paper

 

 

There are two major types of antipsychotic medication, both of which manage the positive symptoms of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, including hallucinations and delusions.

Typical antipsychotics are the first generation of medications, including chlorpromazine and haloperidol. Typical antipsychotics tend to be very effective, yet often come with severe side effects. Older clients are more likely to have been prescribed typical antipsychotics before the newer atypical antipsychotics became available.

Atypical antipsychotics are the newer generation of medications; they tend to be better tolerated with less severe side effects (Perry, et al., 2007). Since typical antipsychotics often have severe side effects, they are used when atypical antipsychotics are not effective.

Reference: Perry, P. J. (Ed.). (2007). Psychotropic drug handbook. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

To prepare for this Discussion

Consider the following scenario:

A client, Roger, scheduled an urgent session and is now describing symptoms of active psychosis to you. Roger was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia by a psychiatrist and was given medications to stabilize his brain chemistry; however, Roger is not taking the medications as prescribed because they make him feel trapped and disengaged in his own skin.

Write out a mini script showing what you might say to Roger.

Respond to the following prompts using your mini script.

• Provide two potential questions you might ask to determine what Roger understands about his diagnosis and about the role of medications.
• Provide two potential questions you might ask to learn about the reasons for medication nonadherence.
• Explain the role of medications and counseling alongside a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
• Include an empathetic reflection to Roger.
• Reading: Required Readings
  Sinacola, R. S., Peters-Strickland, T., & Wyner, J. D. (2020). Basic psychopharmacology for mental health professionals (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.
  • Chapter 8, “Treatment of Psychotic Disorders”
  • Required Media
    TED. (2016, December 2). Paul Fletcher: Psychosis: Bending reality to see around corners [Video file]. Retrieved from Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 12 minutes.TED. (2017, December 8). Debra Lampshire: Hearing Voices: an insiders guide to auditory hallucinations [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/debra_lampshire_hearing_…Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 18 minutes.
    TED. (2013, February). Eleanor Longden: The voices in my head [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eleanor_longden_the_voic…Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 14 minutes.
    TED. (2016, February). Mariano Sigman: Your words may predict your future mental health [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/mariano_sigman_your_word…Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 12 minutes.
  • https://youtu.be/tV2RLLtOgL4