Question

1. Why has Schizophrenia been described as the ultimate psychological breakdown?  What happens for the individual that makes it hard to lead their lives?
2. You have a client who is depressed (Major Depressive Disorder).  First name, then discuss THREE treatment goals for working with this client.  CLUE:  What needs to change?
3. Anxiety, Depressive and Adjustment Disorders are diagnosed in out-patient clinical populations more frequently than other disorders.  Why?

Answer 1

1. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that causes a person to lose touch with reality. It involves a number of positive, negative and catatonic symptoms. In positive symptoms, a person with schizophrenia experiences delusions and hallucinations. These auditory and visual hallucinations are so disturbing that the person cannot concentrate on anything else. People with schizophrenia may also experience a number of delusions which may get too extreme (eg. someone is trying to kill them). Moreover, the negative symptoms of schizophrenia make a person incapable of functioning in the society. People find it hard to express correct emotions (blunted affect) or to express any emotions at all (flat affect). They often keep repeating the same thing over and over again (perseverance) and may sometimes even invent new words (neologisms). Schizophrenia makes it difficult for people to hold jobs or to maintain relationships with people. Most people with this disorder require hospitalization. Once their symptoms improve, they also need some form of rehabilitation to enable them to function well again.