Symptoms An interviewer asked Kennedy some questions in Video 1. His responses and attitude towards the questions demonstrated both positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms reflect an excess of normal brain function. The positive symptoms that were prevalent in the video include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behaviour. Kennedy got distracted from answering the questions he was asked, because he was talking to the voices in his head. This is evidence of hallucination. He also showed delusions for the reasons that his boyfriend was a magazine cut out, his doctor was Tom Cruise, his social worker, Joe Big Daddy, had a crush on him, and Bush was out to get him. Disorganized speech and behaviour were evident as well
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(2006), there are 4 key stages to CBT, begin a therapeutic alliance based on the patient’s perspective, developing other explanations for schizophrenia symptoms, minimizing the impact of positive and negative symptoms, and recommending alternatives to the medical model to address medication adherence. A therapeutic alliance requires the clinician to empathize, respect, and be honest with the patient (Turkington et al. 2006). The clinician should also be interested in learning about the patient’s beliefs and not opposing them. The relationship between the clinician and the patient should be the most important part of the treatment process, because the presence of hope and support are linked to effective treatment. Furthermore, Turkington et al. (2006) explained that the goal of CBT is to find explanations of the patients’ experiences that are accepted by both the patient and the clinician. It is not an easy task to come to a compromise on the explanations of the symptoms, but it can be done after several clinical …show more content…
In this technique, the patient is asked about the specifics of his/her delusions so as to understand how he/she arrived at those beliefs (Morrison 2009). The clinician can use it to introduce doubts and alternative hypotheses (Turkington et al. 2006). Moreover, hallucinations can be understood by discussing the details of the patient’s experience. Turkington et al. (2006) used the example of “is the person talking to you? Or shouting?” This may also create doubt in the mind of the patient. Drug therapy can be used alongside CBT to treat negative symptoms. For example, risperidone rebalances dopamine and serotonin levels in the patient to improve behaviour, mood, and thought. It blocks dopamine type 2, serotonin type 2, and alpha 2 adrenergic receptors on nerves, but its exact mechanism is unknown (MedicineNet). This can prevent excessive activity of dopamine, which is associated with schizophrenia. Even more, the clinician should emphasize the importance of medication adherence to patients, as CBT is not a substitute for drug therapy.
Other recommendations The treatment for schizophrenia will occur over the lifetime of the patient. Cognitive behavioural therapy is not effective for all patients. Patients in denial of their illness are especially known to show no improvement with CBT (Turkington et al. 2006). There are other therapies that
(2006), there are 4 key stages to CBT, begin a therapeutic alliance based on the patient’s perspective, developing other explanations for schizophrenia symptoms, minimizing the impact of positive and negative symptoms, and recommending alternatives to the medical model to address medication adherence. A therapeutic alliance requires the clinician to empathize, respect, and be honest with the patient (Turkington et al. 2006). The clinician should also be interested in learning about the patient’s beliefs and not opposing them. The relationship between the clinician and the patient should be the most important part of the treatment process, because the presence of hope and support are linked to effective treatment. Furthermore, Turkington et al. (2006) explained that the goal of CBT is to find explanations of the patients’ experiences that are accepted by both the patient and the clinician. It is not an easy task to come to a compromise on the explanations of the symptoms, but it can be done after several clinical …show more content…
In this technique, the patient is asked about the specifics of his/her delusions so as to understand how he/she arrived at those beliefs (Morrison 2009). The clinician can use it to introduce doubts and alternative hypotheses (Turkington et al. 2006). Moreover, hallucinations can be understood by discussing the details of the patient’s experience. Turkington et al. (2006) used the example of “is the person talking to you? Or shouting?” This may also create doubt in the mind of the patient. Drug therapy can be used alongside CBT to treat negative symptoms. For example, risperidone rebalances dopamine and serotonin levels in the patient to improve behaviour, mood, and thought. It blocks dopamine type 2, serotonin type 2, and alpha 2 adrenergic receptors on nerves, but its exact mechanism is unknown (MedicineNet). This can prevent excessive activity of dopamine, which is associated with schizophrenia. Even more, the clinician should emphasize the importance of medication adherence to patients, as CBT is not a substitute for drug therapy.
Other recommendations The treatment for schizophrenia will occur over the lifetime of the patient. Cognitive behavioural therapy is not effective for all patients. Patients in denial of their illness are especially known to show no improvement with CBT (Turkington et al. 2006). There are other therapies that