Running head SCHIZOPHRENIA MENTAL DISORDER .docx

Running head: SCHIZOPHRENIA MENTAL DISORDER
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SCHIZOPHRENIA MENTAL DISORDER
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Schizophrenia Mental Disorder
Student’s Name
Course Name
Instructor’s Name
University Affiliation
Schizophrenia Mental Disorder
Introduction
Schizophrenia is a type of psychological illness. It is a chronic
and unembellished mental disorder that mainly distresses an
individual’s thinking, norms as well as to their extent of
sensation. According to modern day research, reports indicates
that persons who have schizophrenia might appear as if they
have misplaced touch with realism. However, much it is not
collective as in comparison with the other mental disorders, its
symptoms seem to be much disabling in nature (Miller, 2012).
An example is a reduction of a person’s pleasure in their daily
undertakings. It raises the question; what can a man do in the
absence of desire and affection in all their doings? From the
information as already mentioned above, this paper takes turn

providing an enhanced analysis of the mental disorder disease –
Schizophrenia.
Signs and Symptoms
In close to all the reported cases, signs and symptoms of
schizophrenia often start from ages ranging between 16 and 30.
There are however fewer cases that the disease has
identification among the children. In this paper, it classifies the
symptoms and signs into three categories. They include the
positive, negative, as well as to the cognitive symptoms as
illustrated below.
Positive signs:
In this category, they have a regard for psychotic norms. It
means that it is hard to depict the signs commonly in people
who are living a healthy lifestyle. However, the given
individuals might tend to part ways with their connectivity with
different components of reality. The symptoms might include: -
· Delusions
· Agitated movements of the body in a disorderly manner
· Hallucinations
· Unfamiliar perspective of thinking entailing disorderly
thoughts and imaginations
Negative symptoms:
In this set, symptoms have a closer affiliation with
disturbances to both the common behaviors as well as to
particular emotions (Mueser, 2011). The symptoms comprise of:
-
· Condensed level of speaking
· Reduction in the extent of both pleasure and feelings in a
person’s everyday life undertakings
· Decline on the voice tone as well as the ordinary portrayal of
emotions
· Hardships in commencing and sustaining of various activities
Cognitive symptoms:
In this set of symptoms, it varies from one given an individual
to the other. To certain people, the symptoms are observable as

being delicate in nature. On the other hand, the symptoms prove
to be extra severe (Weiberger et al., 2011). In such situations,
the affected persons are capable of recognizing alterations in
either the facets of thinking and imagination, as well as to
variations in their memory. Examples of symptoms in this
category includes: -
· Distress in concentration as well as to paying of attention
· Inability to make use of a given information as soon as it is
obtained by the particular individuals
· Inability to make just functioning of the information obtained.
For example, an individual does a different function from that
which was expected
What are the reasons behind the occurrence of schizophrenia?
From the time of its inception up to the moment, there has never
been a fruitful result on the exact causes of the mental disorder.
Nevertheless, the majority of qualified researchers in the
medical field have a strong belief that its roots span around
both the environmental as well as to the genetic factors. There
are certain components in our everyday life that might cause an
individual to have exposure to develop schizophrenia. On the
other hand, physicians also believe that certain scenarios might
steer the condition of acquiring the disease. Below are examples
of the possible causes of schizophrenia mental disorder
(Traynor, 2005).
Environment:
Researchers and physicians have a strong belief that
environment is a strong contribution to schizophrenia disease. It
involves the enhanced affiliations amid the genes as well as to
the aspects of a person’s environment. Through this, it opens up
ways for the development of the mental disorder disease.
Examples of the given environmental factors might include;
· Psychosocial characteristics
· Difficulties in the process of conceiving
· Exposure to viruses
· Malnutrition extremes of an infant prior to birth

Unlike brain chemistry and structure:
About recent studies conducted on the brain, research indicates
a possible cause of schizophrenia disease if there takes place
alteration if the brain components. It includes inequality in the
multifaceted and unified chemical activities of the mind. It
particular, it involves the neurotransmitters that are known to be
the facets of the brain that enhances communication in the
brain, glutamate as well as o dopamine. Frequent and consistent
movement of the given components of the brain possibly results
to a gradual development of schizophrenia disease. Also, there
are also speculations from various researches that points out to
the elaboration of illness as a result of complications with the
brain during the initial stages of development of a fetus. At the
same time, it is also important to note that during the stages of
puberty, the human brain undergoes significant alterations.
Through the given changes, the chances are high that there
might be the development of psychotic symptoms particularly to
the given individuals exposed to either variation in the brain as
well to changes in their genetic structure (Wilczynski, 2012).
Genetics:
For a much extended period of time, scientists have a firm
belief that schizophrenia disease runs in the blood of families.
It is contrary to the array of persons who have developed the
mental disorder even though in their bloodline, no single person
has shown any signs or diagnosis of the disease before. Even
though not a single gene can lead to the development of the
disease, numerous dissimilar genes might heighten the chances
of development of the mental disorder. It means that genetic
data is not at a position of determining the prospective
individuals who might develop the disease in the future.
Regardless of the given inability of using genes to determine
the pattern of schizophrenia in persons, physicians still have a
belief that it runs in the families who share a common blood.
For this reason, the merging of various genes together is still
not a guarantee that one would develop the disease. However,
there is much likelihood that it might accelerate development of

the disease.
Still, under genetics, there is evidence contributing to the fact
that this type of mental disorder is inherited. Numerous studies
have been conducted on twins to determine the extent of
inheritance of this disease. There is the sharing of similar genes
by identical twins. Suppose one twin develops schizophrenia
disease, the other one has more likelihood of developing the
disease. Chances are often 1 in every two chances. Even if the
twins are brought up separately, the likelihood of developing
the disease are still high (Traynor, 2005).
Pregnancy and birth complications:
During pregnancies as well as to complications during birth,
there are chances that such persons might develop the mental
disorder. Complications in birth might include reduced weight
on the woman, early labor pains as well as to deficiency in the
level of oxygen during conceiving.
Stress:
Stress has a consideration of being one of the top triggers of
schizophrenia disease in humans. It includes stressful
happenings like the constant losing of loved ones. Other
Examples of stressful events include loss of job, marriage
breakups, and persistent racial discrimination. It is important to
note that the given constraints do not cause schizophrenia, but
instead, they are stimulants towards triggering occurrence of the
disorder.
Drug abuse:
Even though the use of narcotics does not guarantee the
development of the disease, but they act as aspects that heighten
chances of development of the given disease. It is closely
related to trigger issues as they stimulate the development of
the disease. It, therefore, means that over consumption of drugs
highly relates to the condition. An example of the given drugs
includes abuse of cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamines. The
above drugs are delicate to persons who are susceptible. In most
of the situations, over the use of the given drugs might lead to
relapse especially in the group of individuals who are

recovering from a similar situation before.
Distinct Persons Affected with the Disorder
According to research, the mental disorder is thought to be
present in one out of every one hundred individuals. Due to the
hardships in recognizing the signs and symptoms, most of the
people continue to live a normal life minus having a familiarity
that indeed, they are affected by the given disease. However, its
diagnosis occurs between the ages ranging between 15 and 35.
It does not have a particular consideration but instead, it affects
both the men and the women equally (Wilczynski, 2012). Also,
no legit test has been established in measuring this kind of
mental disorder. On the other hand, it can as well be diagnosed
after a comprehensive assessment by a physician or a mental
health care expert. If this disease is recovered earlier enough,
there are chances that it can be treated.
Risk Factors
According to modern day research, there several factors that
pave the way for the development of schizophrenia disease.
Even though the prices causes of the illness has not yet been
found, certain underlying factors accelerate the development of
illness (Templeman et al., 2011). They include the combination
of the environmental, genetic, physical as well as to the
psychological facets. The above conditions are examples of the
components that can steer the development of the disease.
Taking the environment as an example, it involves the enhanced
affiliations amid the genes as well as to the aspects of a
person’s environment. Through this, it opens up ways for the
development of the mental disorder disease. Examples of the
given environmental factors might include an individual’s
exposure to viruses. Examples of factors that heightens the
prospects of schizophrenia development include: -
Treatments and Therapies: In most of the situations this type of
mental disorder undergoes treatment with a grouping of therapy
and medication suitable to each and every individual. Examples
include antipsychotic medicines as well as to CBT(Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy). In the recent cases, victims suffering from
this type of mental disorder do receive assistance from
community-based programs including CMHT (community
mental health team).
Through this, they get to receive daily support as well as to
treatment. In the outcome of individual therapies, sure people
recover from schizophrenia. However, they still face relapses if
the symptoms return (Qaseem et al., 2012). To reduce
demoralization of individuals from treatment, consistent
assistance and encouragements help the given individuals
understand more concerning schizophrenia mental disease.
Treatment of Schizophrenia
There are no correct procedures already established to cure
schizophrenia. However, physicians focus on doing away with
the symptoms through various treatments including therapies as
already mentioned above. Among the different treatments
consists of:
· Antipsychotics: - It is a kind of daily medication involving the
consumption of prescribed drugs that can be either in the form
of a pill or liquid form. In certain situations, the antipsychotics
medications involve injections that are specified either once or
twice each and every month. However, research indicates a
trend in which part of the victims often undergo side effects
whenever they commence the given medications. The good news
is that the side effects does not last for a long period of time as
they soon fade away thereby making the individuals adhere
positively towards the medications (Lugterberg et al., 2009).
For this reasons, we find that close collaboration between the
doctors and the patients is essential in determining the rightful
combination of medication in reference to the dosage.
· Psychosocial Treatments: - It is a kind of fruitful medication
program to the patients. It is because, it commences as soon as
the physician as well as to the given patient develops a
treatment plan. It generally involves the ability to gain
knowledge concerning their symptoms as well as to the

drawbacks that have resulted as a result of the development of
schizophrenia mental disorder within them. Through getting
used to the new life system they undertake, they stand a chance
of bouncing back to the society as normal; individuals just like
other people. It has also been proven that the victims who
regularly participate in this kind of initiative hardly faces any
relapses in the coming times.
· Coordinated specialty care (CSC): - In this kind of treatment,
it mainly involve the overall incorporation of the prescribed
medications, involvement of the family, case management,
psychosocial therapies as well as to educational programs that
mainly aims minimizing of the severe symptoms of
schizophrenia while at the same time enlightening the quality of
life of an individual (Kung, 2005).
Living with schizophrenia
Living with schizophrenia mainly involve a comprehensive
management of the directed medications of the doctors. An
individual has to be profound with the fact that there are no
precise medications of curing the mental disorder. However,
there are higher chances of minimizing any form of relapses.
Through effective management, the given interventions include;
· Earlier recognition of the signs of any given syndrome in the
body
· It follows suit with communicating with a doctor concerning
any malicious symptoms either present or cropping up in the
body
· An individual should therefore adhere to the medications as
prescribed by the given physician
· It is always important to communicate with the family
members and close friends concerning the situation as it is
helpful in terms of therapy involvements as well as to
consultations
How to assist an individual with schizophrenia
Because of lack of rightful medicine to cure this given type of

mental order disease, the best strategy is to offer care and
support to the persons suffering from the disease. At the same
time, it is always difficult to either make judgments or retort to
an individual who consistently keep on acting strange as well as
establishing faulty statements (Adopted from Institute of
Medicine, 2011). Caregivers should always have it in mind that
schizophrenia mental disorder is entirely biological in nature. In
order to give much care and love to the persons suffering from
this kind of mental disorder, below are certain factors that need
to be put into consideration.
They include:
· Helping them get attached to any support group in the area
· Ensure that they get involved in treatment sessions while at
the same time making them stick to the treatment program
· Always ensure to understand that they are suffering from a
disease that is biological in nature
· Always be respectful and show love, passion and compassion
to your loved ones suffering from the disorder
Is it helpful to join a clinical Study?
As far schizophrenia mental disorder is concerned, participation
in a clinical study is of great importance to any individual
suffering from this given type of disease. In the moment that the
given individuals join the clinical trials, they get to learn more
concerning updates on treatment therapies. One of the primary
objectives of a clinical trial in reference schizophrenia is that it
defines the relevance of any particular program brought to the
table (Gilmour et al., 2011).
Misconceptions about schizophrenia
Split personality: Most of the people who do not believe that the
disease is biological in nature, often presume that victims
suffering from the disease undergo a form of split personality.
For example, they tend to act orderly in certain scenarios while
at the same time, they act weird in other instances. Basically, it
is not true in nature.
Violent behavior: It is also an example of a misconception
related to the mental disorder. Most of the people associate this

type of disease with severe violent activities. However, this is
contrary to the realism of the persons affected with the disease.
The victims are ever peaceful and jovial with one another in the
society. As we all know, violent behaviors are associated with
persons who constantly abuse drugs. For the given reasons, we
classify thus as a misconception.
Conclusion
Schizophrenia mental disorder is a relative disease just
like any other biological ailments. Any given individual
suffering from its effects has a right of being treated fairly in
the community. It mainly involves attendance of therapies as
well as to adhering to medical treatments. Through this, it will
prevent any occurrence of a possible relapse by the victim. This
paper is a perfect example of an outline that is effective in
understanding more concerning schizophrenia mental disorder.
References
Gilmour, J., Harrison, C., Asadi L., Cohen, M. H., & Vohra, S.,

(2011). Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitioners'
standard of care: Responsibilities to patients and parents.
Pediatrics. Supplement, 4(128), S200-S205. Retrieved
fromhttp://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/Suppleme
nt_4/S200.full.pdf
Institute of Medicine. (2011). Clinical practice guidelines we
can trust. National Academies Press. Washington, DC National
Academies, 1-2. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2011/Cl
inical-Practice-Guidelines-We-Can-
Trust/Clinical%20Practice%20Guidelines%202011%20Insert.pd
f
Kung, C. C. (2005). Defining a standard of care in the practice
of acupuncture. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 31(1)
117-130. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Lugteberg, M., Burgers, J. S., Westert, G. P. (2009). Effects of
evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on quality of care: a
systematic review. Qual Saf Health Care, 18, 385-392.
Miller, R., & Mason, S. E. (2012). Diagnosis Schizophrenia: A
comprehensive resource for patients, families, and helping
professionals. New York: Columbia University Press.
Mueser, K. T., & Jeste, D. V. (2011). Clinical handbook of
schizophrenia. New York: Guilford Press.
Qaseem, A., Forland, F., Macbeth, F., Ollenschlager, G.,
Phillips, S., & van der Wees, P. (2012). Guidelines
international network: toward international standards for
clinical practice guidelines. Annals of Internal Medicine,
156(7), 525-531. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Templeman K., & Robinson A. (2011). Integrative medicine
models in contemporary primary health care. Complement Ther
Med, 19(2) 84-92. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Traynor, K. (2005). Report urges scientific standards for
alternative medicine. American Journal of Health-System
Pharmacy, 62(6), 562. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost
database.
Weinberger, D. R., & Harrison, P. (2010). Schizophrenia. New

York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Wilczynski, S. M. (2012). Risk and strategic decision-making
in developing evidence-based practice guidelines. Education &
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ProQuest database.
Header: Outline and Annotated Bibliography
11
A report on Schizophrenia treatment practices
Student’s name
Course
Instructor name
Date
Table of Contents
3Introduction
3Thesis statement
4Schizophrenia disease

6Best treatment practices of schizophrenia disease
6Conventional medicinal treatment
8Complementary and alternative health therapies
9The integrative model of care
10Comparison
12Conclusion
14Annotated Bibliography
Introduction
Chronic diseases diagnosis and treatment is normally
complicated unlike other infections. In most cases, the chronic
diseases do not have standard practices for the treatment
process. Many physicians and health care normally adopts
various medical guidelines in diagnosis and treatment of these
chronic diseases. Consequently, these methods always result to
different outcomes among the patients. In many cases, chronic
diseases do not have established practices and guidelines and
thus leaves a huge room in which many practitioners follow
different paths. The outcome generated may be achieved with
huge clinical confidence and in some cases with moderate
clinical confidence. To eliminate some of the uncertainties in
treatment, there is vehement need to have standard and
harmonized guidelines that should be followed during the
treatment process of people with chronic diseases. Thesis
statement
In effort towards realization of the best practices for chronic
diseases, this paper seeks to establish the best practices for
Schizophrenia in particular. The study has analyzed the current
practices of treatment of the Schizophrenia diseases and the
possible outcomes. In consideration to this, the paper has
analyzed the prevalence rate, development of disease among
people and the quality of life in consideration to various
intervention programs for the disease. The paper provides in
depth investigation about the diseases through background
information search, through literature findings and
epidemiological statistics. Thereafter, the paper establishes a

model which describes the treatment practices of the disease.
Lastly, the paper provides recommendations on the best
practices on how the Schizophrenia disease would be treated.
Schizophrenia disease
Schizophrenia disease is a mental and severe chronic disorder
that impairs the judgment of a person. The disorder is
associated with loss touch with the common society.
Schizophrenia major symptoms may include the following but
not limited to unclear and confused thinking, hearing unreal
voices, reduced engagement with people (Lehman et al., 2014).
More often other mental problems that are likely to develop
include anxiety disorders, depressive illness and may also lead
to drug and substance abuse.
The development of the disorder is considered to be gradual.
Typically, it develops from childhood to young adulthood to
later stages of life. At childhood, the disease is caused by
genetic factors or environmental conditions. However, a distinct
cause of the disorder has not been established. Some of the
genetic factors associated with the disorder include gene
mutations and rare genetic variants. On the other hand, the
environmental factors that are associated with the disorder
include cannabis use, infections, poor nutrition during
pregnancy among others. The disorder may be a result of a
combination of two or more of the mentioned factors.
Like other mental conditions, the schizophrenia condition has
no standard diagnosis test. The physician carrying out the
diagnosis process must adhere to DSM-IV guideline of
diagnosis for mental conditions. For instance, it is hard to
diagnose the disease among children and young teenagers since
some of the problems associated with the condition such as bad
grades, sleeping irregularly and withdrawal from friends are
considered to be typical problems. A physical test is normally
done to rule out the possibility of other conditions such as
metabolic disorders, brain tumor and drug abuse. However, for a

person with the schizophrenia condition, that does not hold. A
patient has to undergo a six months surveillance on his/her mind
development about delusions, hallucinations, disorganized
speech, hyperactive behavior and coma-like sleep. A consistent
development of the above symptoms for the patient is a clear
indication of the disease and this can only lead to a vindication
that someone has the condition (Anderson et al., 2006).
As per the DSM-IV guidelines on people with schizophrenia
condition, the diagnosis of the condition is guaranteed by
consistent combination of positive, negative and cognitive
factors. The positive symptoms of a person include
hallucinations, delusions and racing thoughts. Moreover,
apathy, social withdrawal and disorganized thoughts and
memory problems are all indications of person with
schizophrenia disorder. Family history is also vital in
establishment of the condition among the patient.
The schizophrenia condition prevalence can’t be understated.
According to Anderson et al., (2006), it can be established that
about 0.3 to 0.7% of the people in the world are affected by the
disorder at any point in their lifetime. As reported by American
Psychiatric Association (2006), the disease is responsible for
about 16,000 deaths annually across the globe. In 2013, there
was an estimation of 23.6 million cases globally where more
males were considered to be prevalent as compared to women.
According to American medical agency, approximately 20% of
the patients do well and eventually recover completely. The
remaining 80% of the people are mainly affected by pother
social problems including homelessness, poverty and
unemployment. The major problems associated by this mental
disorder is high suicide rate which occur due to loss of hope for
majority of the patients.
The treatment and management of the schizophrenia condition
can be done through the conventional medicine methodology,
complementary and alternative health therapies in addition to
integrated approach methodology (Lehman et al., 2014). The
complimentary therapy used in treatment of the condition is

psychosocial and cognitive therapy. This alternative kind of
treatment is useful and consists of a scenario where a
psychotherapist tries to recover the consciousness of a person
with the condition. In most cases, psycho treatment involves
helping the affected patients to learn on how to cope and learn
in order to address the daily challenges in life. Through
cognitive therapy, it is easier to influence the person moods and
actions in order to adapt and attain the much needed health.
Through that, psychotherapy strains to achieve a sense of
control and pleasure in people live. The complimentary
treatment of psychotherapy is one of the most vital treatment in
additional to the conventional method of treatment.Best
treatment practices of schizophrenia disease
Treatment and management of schizophrenia disease takes place
in three mechanisms. Fist through the conventional medicinal
method. Second, through complimentary treatment methodology
and through integrative action methodology. From all the above
mechanisms, there are best practices that each methodology
applies. The mechanisms are believed to be the way forward for
the treatment of schizophrenia disorder. Conventional medicinal
treatment
Convectional medicinal treatment of schizophrenia entail
application of various drugs in the body in order to trigger a
reaction in the body. For the case of the schizophrenia disorder
the process entails use of various antibiotics and medicinal
programs in order to curb the disease. The major antibiotics
applied in curing the disorder include phenothiazines,
thioxanthenes, dibenzoxazepines and dihydroindolones. The
main action of these antibiotics is to block the dopamine D2
receptors in the brain thereby having a therapeutic activity in
the brain (Geddes & Bebbington, 2010). The drugs have been in
wide use for the treatment of this disorder. The following are
best practices in treatment of the disorder using the
conventional medical method.

In treatment of schizophrenia, there is a consideration of the
stage and phases. The phases of treatment are differentiated as
either acute or maintenance phase. During the acute phase the
treatment is characterized by high doses of antibiotics applied
in order to treat the psychotic symptoms. The maintenance
phase in treatment is characterized by reduced aggressive
treatment that seeks to establish a stable environment for the
patient. At this stage, a fair approach is taken in order to
prevent inter-episode symptoms.
Consistent application of medication is another aspect that must
be considered. Consistent application of medicine ensures that
no complication or side symptoms can erupt. Additionally,
consistency ensures that there is limited chance for relapse rate.
Through consistent drug application, the patient can be able to
establish whether there are development in the body concerning
the disease.
Physicians need to determine the side effects of each type of
medication for a certain kind of drug. For the first-generational
(conventional) drugs and second generational drugs, there is
notable difference between the two types of drugs on the side
effects. Optimal pharmacological treatment of the schizophrenia
calls for the understanding of the patients’ disorder and the
diverse pathological knowledge of the antipsychotic treatments
(American Psychiatric Association, 2006).
The use of scale to profile the level of the condition is highly
recommended. According to DSM- IV treatment guideline,
several approaches have been outlined on how to treat the
disorder based on the level of the disease of the patient
(Anderson et al., 2006). Using the scale provided by the DSM-
IV criterion, one can easily determine the level of
aggressiveness to be applied during the process of medication.
For instance, a person with the disorder at a high development
stage cannot be subjected in the same treatment with someone
of the disorder at the basic level. Complementary and

alternative health therapies
The most effective and widely used complimentary therapy in
treatment of schizophrenia entails psychosocial and cognitive
therapy. It has been found out that, the conventional method of
treatment is a good remedy to the positive effects such as
hallucinations and delusions but it is unable to curb cognitive
and negative symptoms of the disease. Some of the negative
symptoms which include apathy, low self-esteem and social
withdrawal in additional to cognitive symptoms such as memory
loss and lack of awareness can be best cured through
complementary and alternative therapy of psychosocial and
cognitive therapy.
Psychosocial interventions are aimed at long term realization of
one goals and prevention of related stresses for the individual.
In most cases, the psychosocial interventions are normally
carried out in individual and family basis. Some of the best
practices in psychosocial interventions include:
Individual psychotherapist must be established. A patient
recovery from some of the cognitive and negative effects
through counselling through a professional psycho expert
(Lehman et al., 2014). The patient and the expert must confide
with each other on major. The patient are helped on how to
improve on their cognitive life through various intervention
programs. The relationship with the counselors is meant to help
the patient strengthen the interpersonal skills while reducing
stresses.
Family treatment and education is key to realization of
cognitive purposes. The rationale for indicating that is because
hostile environment around the homestead can be fatal to the
patient. The family shall successfully deal with problems such
as stigma and discrimination commonly associated with the
disease (Harvey, 2011). Through good treatments from parents,
it can clear that the patient can have a good emotional

environment through which he/she can express fully without the
fear of discrimination.
Assertive community treatment must be enhanced. In assertive
community treatment, the patient is subjected to acceptance by
all members of the society, through this intervention, there is
job support, where the patient is accorded the comfort and
realization of his goals. Through the treatment, the intervention
seeks to eliminate major problems of awareness such as lack of
passion and goal for life. High self-esteem and cognition is
likely to build for such kind of patient. The integrative model of
care
The integrative model care of treatment consolidates both the
conventional method of treatment and the other psychosocial
interventions. The objective of integration of both models seeks
to obtain a remedy to both the negative symptoms and cognitive
symptoms as well as positive symptoms of schizophrenia
disorder. The best practices in integrative model of care for
patients with schizophrenia entails the following:
The doctor to patient relationship must be improved. The
process of treatment for this disorder depends hugely on the
relationship between the doctor and the patient. The doctor shall
be able to determine accurately the level as he/she carries out
the pharmacology practices towards solving the disorder.
Additionally, there is need to educate the patient about the
condition of the illness. The patient in major circumstances are
unable to develop in a healthy way through understanding about
their medical conditions. Doctors and other practitioners have to
establish mechanisms through which the patient has to develop
awareness about his condition in addition to awareness of the
disease.
In addition to psych treatment, the integrative model seeks to
establish selected antidepressants such as trazodone, fluoxetine
as additional intervention strategies for treatment of the disease.
The antidepressants are considered to be effective due to their

influence in reducing negative effects of schizophrenia such as
depression (Harvey, 2011). The strategy then must be used in
conjunction with antipsychotics treatment in order to curb the
disease. The positive and negative effects of schizophrenia are
taken into consideration
Support programs in the hospitals are always encouraged in
treatment of the patient. The patient must be in constant
connection with the counsellors and family to receive the
necessary support required in order to improve.
Comparison
All the models outlined above are aimed at ensuring good health
of patients with schizophrenia disease. The models are all
geared towards treatment of people with the disease. It can then
be deduced that
Treatment process incorporates a long term plan on how to
conduct various activities. Through the plan, antipsychotic,
psychosocial interventions and behavioral change are normally
established. Through the time, various observations can be made
and the necessary intervention can be made in case of relapses
and depression.
Additionally all the models consider different approaches for
different patients. Patients have the disorder at different levels
and this calls for different methods and different levels of
aggressiveness. For any kind of patient, a specialized treatment
must be taken into consideration depending on the intensity of
the symptoms.
All the models insist on the reduced intensity of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a chronic disease that requires an intervention
and the main aims of the aforementioned models is to reduce the
symptoms of schizophrenia where positive, negative or
cognitive.

There are notable differences among the models provided. The
differences are outlined in objectives and the methodology in
which all the models establishes their practices. Some of the
notable differences include the following:
While the conventional pharmacology method entails use of
drugs (antibiotics) in treatment of the disorder, the other
complimentary method of treatment focus on the cognitive and
social environment towards realization of goals and self-seeking
mechanisms. Integrative approach seeks to consolidate the two
methodologies of treatment.
Furthermore, the main factor of consideration between the three
methods of treatment is different. While the first seeks to
establish a counter- effective method to the diseases symptoms
in the body through biological reactions, the second
complimentary approach seeks to establish a quality life for the
patient (Geddes & Bebbington, 2010). The quality and
perception of life in regards to the complimentary interventions
is believed to be at a higher position.
Additionally, the application of additional treatments such as
antidepressants in addition to antioxidants vitamins have been
advocated for in the integral method of treatment through which
various considerations such as non-responsive treatments are
considered. In an integral approach, all the practices are geared
towards a better life of a patient while curbing the effects of
schizophrenia disease. Conclusion
Based on the provided models, it is very clear that the treatment
of schizophrenia disease requires a redesign. The redesign of
the standards have been established to make sure the best
practices of the treatment are geared towards attain the best for
the patients.
Treatment of schizophrenia disorder must incorporate the
quality of life of the patient. The quality of life of patient can
be established when the antipsychotic treatment are applied in
moderation with the response of a patient. Aggressiveness of
application of the drugs must be done with moderation to avoid

extreme side effects of the drugs. The side effects that results
due to pharmacology treatment can lead to development of other
unhealthy conditions.
Differentiated treatments for patients. The schizophrenia
disorder is a disease which requires a differentiated approach
when in application for patients. The first-generational
(conventional) drugs and second –generation drugs are used
interchangeably according to the reaction of the patient towards
the drugs. Furthermore, the cognition help among the patients
should be differentiated in order to cover on the cognitive needs
of the patients.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and antipsychotic treatment should
go hand in hand. The embedment of this two types of treatment
for the patients allows treatment of all the positive, negative
and cognitive symptoms in an entire way. The process of
antibiotics treatment and the cognitive therapy must occur in the
same time. Hence, a patient should also facilitate a good
relationship with the doctor in order to allow good healing time.
In conclusion, treatment of schizophrenia disorder among
patients must establish best practices that has high clinical
confidence. Among them is a well and clear outlined diagnosis
process. Second, the process of antipsychotic treatment must be
taken into consideration about the acute and maintenance
phases. The difference in treatment for the two phases provides
a stability to the body. Additionally, treatment of schizophrenia
must incorporate cognition therapy which is a great utility as
compared with conventional pharmacology method. Lastly, the
process of treatment must conform to the scale provided by the
DSM-IV guideline for schizophrenia condition. Annotated
Bibliography
1. Lehman, A. F., Lieberman, J. A., Dixon, L. B., McGlashan,
T. H., Miller, A. L., Perkins, D. O., ... & Cook, I. (2014).
Practice guideline for the treatment of partients with
schizophrenia. American Journal of psychiatry, 161(2 SUPPL.).

This is a study paper which analyzes on the practical guidelines
in treatment of patients with schizophrenia. The study provides
a deep analysis of the various treatment approaches and the
impact they have in patient life development. It provides
various therapist scenarios for treatment of the disorder. The
paper further provides recommendations on the best way to
work with teams.
2. Geddes, J., Freemantle, N., Harrison, P., & Bebbington, P.
(2010). Atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of
schizophrenia: systematic overview and meta-regression
analysis. Bmj, 321(7273), 1371-1376.
The paper is a research paper which is analytical. It evaluates
the impacts of antipsychotics treatment among the patients of
schizophrenia. The evaluation is carried out through a survey of
52 trials which then confirms that the antipsychotic treatment
effects lowering prevalence case of the disorder. The survey
justifies use of pharmacology methodology in treatment.
3. American Psychiatric Association. (2006). American
Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines for the treatment of
psychiatric disorders: compendium 2006. American Psychiatric
Pub.
This is a journal that provides guideline on how the disorder
should be treated. The main consideration in the publication
points out about the need to have a strategic plan of treatment.
Additionally, it is pointed out that there is need to stick to the
plan until the disease is considered to have zero effects. It
advocates on the need to have an integrated model in treatment.
4. Harvey, P. D., & Keefe, R. S. (2011). Studies of cognitive
change in patients with schizophrenia following novel
antipsychotic treatment. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 158(2), 176-184.

The research establishes the purpose of cognitive therapy among
the patients. In the study, much is outlined about the purpose of
cognitive change while undertaking antipsychotic treatment.
The study provides deep information about the necessity of
having a combination of cognitive change in addition to
antipsychotic treatment.
5. Anderson, C. M., Hogarty, G. E., & Reiss, D. J. (2006).
Family treatment of adult schizophrenic patients: A psycho-
educational approach. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 6(3), 490-505.
The study seeks to elaborate on the importance of family
counselling in the process of treatment. The family is an
important unit towards realization of the better health for the
patient. The study elaborates how the education for the family is
important on how to handle the patient as part of the treatment
process. it shows the extent of influence in elimination of
stigma and discrimination
6. Marder, S. R., Essock, S. M., Miller, A. L., Buchanan, R. W.,
Casey, D. E., Davis, J. M., ... & Stroup, S. (2004). Physical
health monitoring of patients with schizophrenia. American
Journal of Psychiatry, 161(8), 1334-1349.
Considering the condition of schizophrenia has the tendency of
association with other illness, the study evaluates the impacts of
monitoring the health condition. The paper provides a
recommendation on the advantages of regular health monitoring
for the patients. The paper provides various mechanisms for
health monitoring in addition to the occurrence of monitoring
patients.
Running head: SCHIZOPHRENIA
1

Schizophrenia
HCS 495 Complementary & Alternative Health Capstone
Argenia L. McCray
Instructor: Erick Cervantes
October 1, 2016
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[no notes on this page]
SCHIZOPHRENIA
2
I. Introduction/Abstract: This paper seeks to assess evidence-
based medicine when it
comes to treatment protocols, treatment guideline, and outcome
for schizophrenia. It also
intends to provide the perspective of contemporary and
alternative health (CAH),
conventional medicine (CM), and interactive medicine (IM) so
as determine new standards
for medical treatment.
A. Disease/Condition Definition – The condition in question is

schizophrenia.
According to contemporary and alternative health,
schizophrenia refers to a chronic
brain disorder. This medical condition brings about paranoia,
hallucination, breaking
from reality, and reduced ability when it comes to expressing
emotions or flat affect.
With regards to conventional medicine, schizophrenia is termed
as a serious disorder
that negatively impacts how an individual act, feels and think
(Elis, Caponigro, &
Kring, 2013). People who have this condition usually have
problems differentiating
what is imaginary and what is real. Such people are normally
withdrawn or
unresponsive, and they may experience problems when
expressing normal emotions in
social situations.
1. Schizophrenia is not a very common condition, but it can be
chronic and
serious. Throughout the globe, approximately percent of
population is diagnosed
with schizophrenia. About 3.2 million Americans have this
condition. This is 1.2

percent of the population. It is forecasted that 1.5 million
people around the world
will be diagnosed with schizophrenia this year alone. This
figure means that
100,000 people in the United States will be found with the
problem. “This
- 2 -
1
2
1. contemporary
complementary [Erick
Cervantes]
2. affect.
according to whom, this
needs a citation. [Erick
Cervantes]
SCHIZOPHRENIA
3
translates to 7.2 people per 1,000 or about 21,000 people within

a city of 3 million
who are likely to be suffering from schizophrenia” (Farrell et
al., 2015, p. 556).
2. During early stages of industrialization, the frequency of
schizophrenia
was very high, but this has now declined. Also, during its early
stages, it was
common among the upper class individuals, but this is now
different since it
affects even the common class. Schizophrenia has the ability to
affect a person
throughout his or her life. But many instances related to this
problem shows that it
is likely to occur during early adulthood. It is not common for
older adults and
children to develop schizophrenia, only in rear cases. Cases of
the condition now
increase in teen year, and it reaches a peak of vulnerability
between 16 and 25
years. A different pattern when it comes to the condition is
evident among men
and women. Women reach two peaks of vulnerability when it
comes to
developing this condition, that is, between 25 and 30 and

between 40 years while
men have a single peak, that is, between 18 and 25 years. The
ratio of male to
female with regard to this disease is 1.4 to 1. The median
lifetime morbid risk is
estimated to be 7.2 per one thousand persons (Elis et al., 2013).
There is a 2-3 fold
increased the risk of dying from this disease for people who are
suffering from it.
For all-cause mortality, the median standardized mortality ratio
is 2.6. The
differential gap in mortality has gone up over the past decades.
When a
comparison is done between immigrants and native-born,
immigrants have the
highest prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia.
3. There is small difference when one looks at the definitions of
both
contemporary and alternative health and contemporary
medicine. Contemporary
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SCHIZOPHRENIA
4
medicine defines schizophrenia in terms of behavior being
shown by a person
suffering from it. On other hand, contemporary and alternative
health looks at this
condition with regards to how it affects the brain and some of
its symptoms.
B. Assessment –So as to determine the best treatment approach
and outcome when it
comes to treatment of schizophrenia, library research will be
carried out on various
evidence-based medicine literatures that are available.
C. Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that brings about
paranoia,
hallucination, breaking from reality, and reduced ability when it
comes to expressing
emotions. Some of the clinical care models that have been found
to treat this problem
are conventional medicine, contemporary and alternative health,
and integrative
medicine. However, there is a new model undergoing clinical
trials called

Glutamatergic theory
II. Review of The Evidence-Based Medicine
A. In Conventional Medical Care Model, schizophrenia is
properly treated through
medications together with psychosocial therapy. During times of
severe symptoms or
crisis period, hospitalization may be deemed necessary so as to
ensure basic hygiene,
adequate sleep, proper nutrition, and safety. Treatment is guided
by expert
schizophrenia psychiatrist. Commonly prescribed medication for
treating the condition
is antipsychotic medications. Some of the common
antipsychotic drugs are
Aripiprazole (Abilify), Clozapine (Clozaril), Asenapine
(Saphris), Lurasidone
(Latuda), Iloperidone (Fanapt), and Olanzapine (Zyprexa)
among others (Leucht et al.,
2013). They control symptom through controlling brain
neurotransmitters, such as
serotonin and dopamine. Medication is accompanied by
psychosocial interventions.
- 4 -

1
2
3
1. available.
your research must address
both conventional and CAM
supported therapies and
interventions regarding
schizophrenia [Erick
Cervantes]
2. Glutamatergic theory
this is not a model, this is just
a novel approach to the
treatment of Schizophrenia.
[Erick Cervantes]
3. therapy.
what is the standard of care?
[Erick Cervantes]

SCHIZOPHRENIA
5
Some of these psychosocial interventions are individual
therapy, family therapy, social
skills training, and vocational rehabilitation together with
supported employment.
B. The CAH System makes use of a number of methods. There
is the use of
contemporary therapies. These are therapies that totally differ
from conventional
Western medicine. The therapies support and complement
conventional Western
medicine. They have been found to improve well-being and
enhance life. This is
because they have some effects when it comes to alleviating
mental stress. Some of
these contemporary therapies are Aromatherapy, mindfulness,
mirimiri, massage,
relaxation, exercise, yoga, hypnotherapy. The use of supplement
and medicinal or
herbal preparation also assist in treating schizophrenia
(Helgason & Sarris, 2013).
Some of supplements that have been found to be effective are

fish oil and vitamins. A
doctor should be contacted with regards to the use of some
supplements, herbal or
medicinal preparations.
C. Combined scientifically-based approach to treatment is used
in treating
schizophrenia when it comes to the integrative model of care.
Some of these methods
that are combined are proven conventional medicine,
pharmaceutical treatment, and
therapeutic practices (these are nutritional supplements,
lifestyle change, and herbal
remedies among others) so as to bring about maximum benefit
to a patient.
D. Conventional medicine majorly directs much attention to
dopamine since it is
arguing that dopaminergic dysfunction is among the major
symptoms. This means that
drugs are the major treatment substance (Farrell et al., 2015).
Psychosocial therapies
are given so as to deal with the side effects of drugs since the
drugs produce a number
of side effects to patients. Contemporary and alternative health
is very different from

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1
2
3
4
1. employment.
Good job, you will need to be
sure to provide detail on
some of the interventions you
discuss here as well as used
by CAM providers. [Erick
Cervantes]
2. CAH
you will need to choose one
system only, this will help to
narrow your research. [Erick
Cervantes]
3. Aromatherapy,

mindfulness, mirimiri,
massage,
relaxation, exercise, yoga,
hypnotherapy.
please select a system of
medicine under the CAM
umbrella or a modality under
the same. [Erick Cervantes]
4. it
you have a lot information on
conventional approaches, you
must address a CAM system
with similar depth. [Erick
Cervantes]
SCHIZOPHRENIA
6
conventional medicine since it relies on traditional things and
substances. Things like

aromatherapy, mindfulness, mirimiri, massage, relaxation,
exercise, yoga,
hypnotherapy, supplements, and herbal or medicinal
preparations have been available
in the society for a long time and some of them were being used
even introduction of
conventional form of treatment. Integrative medicine, on the
other hand, makes use of
both conventional medicine and contemporary and alternative
health when it comes to
treating patients having schizophrenia.
Conclusion and New Models for Treatment
Schizophrenia refers to a chronic brain disorder that negatively
impacts how an individual act,
feels and think This medical condition brings about paranoia,
hallucination, breaking from
reality, and reduced ability when it comes to expressing
emotions or flat affect. This problem
affects both male and female. It is forecasted that 1.5 million
people around the world will be
diagnosed with schizophrenia this year alone. About 3.2 million
Americans have this condition.
This is 1.2 percent of the population. There are a number of

ways that are used to treat this
condition, among them conventional medicine, contemporary
and alternative treatment and
integrative medicine. All these methods have been proved to be
effective when it comes to
treating schizophrenia. Cases of the condition now increase in
teen year, and it reaches a peak of
vulnerability between 16 and 25 years. There is different pattern
in man and women, where
women reach two peaks of vulnerability when it comes to
developing this condition, that is,
between 25 and 30 and between 40 years while men have a
single peak, that is, between 18 and
25 years.
The glutamatergic theory is a new model that that opens a new
approach for potential treatment
of schizophrenia. This model is now entering its clinical trial.
There are similarities that have
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SCHIZOPHRENIA
7

been noted between schizophrenia and PCP psychosis. The
binding site for PCP is localized in
the ion channel that is created by NMDAR. The primary
excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain
is glutamate that binds to non-NMDA and NMDA (for example
alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-
methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) or metabotropic)
receptor. “Binding of PCP prevents
glutamate from activating NMDARs, which suggests that the
pathogenesis of schizophrenia may
be caused by dysfunction of NMDARs in particular or of the
glutamatergic system in general”
(Juraeva et al., 2014, p. 126).
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SCHIZOPHRENIA
8
III. References
Elis, O., Caponigro, J. M., & Kring, A. M. (2013). Psychosocial
treatments for negative
symptoms in schizophrenia: current practices and future

directions. Clinical psychology
review, 33(8), 914-928.
Farrell, M. S., Werge, T., Sklar, P., Owen, M. J., Ophoff, R. A.,
O'donovan, M. C., ... &
Sullivan, P. F. (2015). Evaluating historical candidate genes for
schizophrenia.
Molecular psychiatry, 20(5), 555-562.
Helgason, C., & Sarris, J. (2013). Mind-body medicine for
schizophrenia and psychotic
disorders: a review of the evidence. Clinical schizophrenia &
related psychoses, 7(3),
138-148.
Juraeva, D., Haenisch, B., Zapatka, M., Frank, J., Witt, S. H.,
Mühleisen, T. W., ... & Giegling, I.
(2014). Integrated pathway-based approach identifies
association between genomic
regions at CTCF and CACNB2 and schizophrenia. PLoS Genet,
10(6), e100-143.
Leucht, S., Cipriani, A., Spineli, L., Mavridis, D., Örey, D.,
Richter, F., ... & Kissling, W.
(2013). Comparative efficacy and tolerability of 15
antipsychotic drugs in schizophrenia:
a multiple-treatments meta-analysis. The Lancet, 382(9896),

951-962.
- 8 -

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