Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia



Schizophrenia

Introduction

Schizophrenia is considered a severe mental disorder that may be characterized by diverse behavioural, emotional, and cognitive conflicts and while the phenomenology of this illness is considered highly varied, general characteristics of schizophrenia may be classified into four fields: positive and negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and social dysfunction. After having gone through the case study, I will attempt to suggest psychological interventions that could help the patient with her situation, as well as review and justify the use of psychological perspectives that are relevant to the patient's problem.

Discussion

The patient in the case study experiences the symptoms of schizophrenia in an early age, she seems to be still in school and is having a hard time accepting the fact that she is going through something that is normally unheard of and is enough to get her shunned from family and friends. Her symptoms are not as severe as delusions and hallucinations, but paranoia is a very frustrating symptom that she is experiencing in the early stages of the illness. Other psychological perspectives contain positive symptoms that may have characteristics such as hallucinations, delusions, ineptitude in forming thoughts, dialogue, and activities that schizophrenia patients particularly encounter (Harris, 2002, pp.113). Negative symptoms may consist of deficiencies if compared with nonpatients. This could include factors like a shortened range of emotional experience as well as expression, and social abandonment, and decrease in effective, goal-directed activities. Schizophrenia is often linked to a deteriorating sense of satisfaction with life, and with that, individuals lose the will to form social and occupational activities(Straube, 1992, pp.12-18). Some form neurocognitive impairments as well as severely diminished social capabilities.

Psychological perspectives over the causes of schizophrenia may not be definite, but there are general perspectives shared by the academic community, which may be broken down into three categories. Theories in the case of the patient involved may be hereditary causes, although there is no mention of such in the case study. Another may be insomnia, as it has been known in the past to cause psychosis in patients who have been in a prolonged state of wakefulness. Drugs are another theory that could prove the patients cause of schizophrenia. As she seems to be a young lady who is going through college, this may seem like a valid enough theory as drug related problems arise on college campuses all the time. Not only this, it has been proven that drugs may be a very definite cause for schizophrenia, as it has been in the past. Biological approach is more concerned on how our physical structure most especially the CNS and our genes influences our thought and behaviour.

It basically involves how our genetic inheritance, evolution of human kind and the nervous system affect how one thinks, feel and act. The Biological Approach tends to use lot of Experiments to investigate the effect of our biology on our behaviour, as well as some Case Studies to investigate the long term effects of lobotomies on an individual or some drug or hormone ...