Schizophrenia poses a formidable mental health challenge, distinguished by hallucinations, delusions, unconventional behaviors, emotional fluctuations, and challenges in day-to-day functioning. If you have a loved one struggling with this condition or suspect they are, residential treatment is a must. Residential treatment for schizophrenia provides support, therapy, medical care, social and life skills, and much more. It gives what your loved one needs to make lasting, positive changes for a better life living with this chronic illness.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia represents a profound mental health condition and neurological disorder. Although it afflicts fewer than one percent of the populace, its repercussions on individuals grappling with the diagnosis and their families are deep-seated and extensive. Schizophrenia causes hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thoughts and speech, difficulty thinking and focusing, and sometimes an inability to express emotions, speak or find pleasure in anything.
Treatment Approaches
Residential Treatment: A Holistic Approach
Residential treatment is often the best choice for schizophrenia treatment. Long-term, intensive care helps you or your loved one learn to manage this condition through therapy, group sessions, social and life skill development, and alternative and wellness practices.
The Initial Assessment
Treatment begins with an assessment of each resident as they check into the facility. This two-day process includes one-on-one sessions, interviews with family, a medication review, and psychiatric, medical, and health history evaluation. The intake process also includes group sessions and a tour to help you or a loved one feel comfortable beginning this journey.
Working with Family
Mental illness is not individual; it involves and impacts the family and loved ones. Also includes the family in the intake process and throughout treatment with at least one family session per week.
Holistic Treatment
Clients receive at least two individual sessions per week with therapists, using the types of therapy most appropriate, such as behavioral therapies. Holistic care for schizophrenia also includes medications, alternative therapies, group therapy, life and work skills, weekly family therapy, and anything else an individual client may need to be successful.
Long-Term Care for Lasting Changes
Many Centers aims to provide each client with the appropriate level and type of treatment that will lead to lasting changes. Long-term residential care for schizophrenia is focused on empowering clients to make these significant behavioral changes, which they can carry with them outside of treatment.
Therapy and Activities Offered
The body of work your loved one will do here includes individual, group, and family therapy, as well as finding the right medication. They will also benefit from a wide range of alternative and complementary therapies and activities for skill development, enrichment, and wellness, which may include:
- Substance use disorder treatment and relapse prevention
- Art therapy
- Music therapy
- Anger management
- Life skills
- Social skills training
- Spirituality and rituals group
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Gender-specific groups
- Nutrition counseling
- Equine therapy
- Adventure therapy
What causes schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia has no single causative factor. Experts believe there are various reasons why schizophrenia arises. The following are the three primary causes:
- Imbalances in the chemical messages that your brain utilizes to communicate between cells.
- Issues with brain development before birth.
- Loss of connections in your brain between various places.
Schizophrenia Symptoms
Schizophrenia is a life-long and chronic mental illness that causes individuals suffering from this disorder to interpret reality abnormally, leading to a combination of bizarre delusions, auditory hallucinations, paranoia, disorganized speech, disordered thinking, and behaviors.
Types of Schizophrenia Treatment
As schizophrenia is a long-term illness it requires lifetime treatment even in the absence of symptoms.
Paranoid schizophrenia
The most prevalent kind of schizophrenia is this one. Compared to other kinds, it could emerge later in life. Delusions and/or hallucinations are among the symptoms; nonetheless, your emotions and speech may remain unaffected.
Hebephrenic schizophrenia
This form of schizophrenia, also referred to as “disorganized schizophrenia,” usually manifests between the ages of 15 and 25. Disorganized thoughts and behaviors, as well as transient delusions and hallucinations, are among the symptoms.
Catatonic schizophrenia
This is the most uncommon diagnostic for schizophrenia, marked by abrupt, erratic, and strange movements. You may frequently alternate between being quite still and incredibly active.
Residual Schizophrenia
If you have a history of psychosis but only exhibit negative symptoms (such as slow mobility, poor memory, lack of attention, and poor hygiene), you may be diagnosed with residual schizophrenia.
Straightforward schizophrenia
Simple schizophrenia is rarely diagnosed. Negative symptoms such as slow movement, poor memory, loss of focus, and poor hygiene emerge worse whereas positive symptoms such as delusions, and disorganized thinking are uncommon.
Final Thoughts
The effects of schizophrenia lead to harmful & dangerous behaviors. Medications are the cornerstone for effectively managing schizophrenia. Occasionally, people who have schizophrenia may be reluctant to take their medications as they can cause rare yet serious side effects.
A combination of antipsychotics and anti-anxiety medications, as well as various therapeutic modalities, is the best approach to treatment. Many Treatment centers offer individual therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), strengths-based counseling, group therapy, and family therapy.
Read More From Techbullion
