Schizophrenia

This article discusses the non-pharmacological treatment options for schizophrenia, with a focus on cognitive behavioral therapy. It explores the role of cognitive behavioral therapy in managing the symptoms of schizophrenia and the importance of nurses in delivering this type of therapy. The article also provides an overview of the different levels of non-pharmacological treatment available for individuals with schizophrenia.

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Schizophrenia
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Schizophrenia
Introduction
Schizophrenia is a type of mental disorder which is part of disorders of psychosis. The
clinical signs of the disorder were initially described by Emil Kraeplin around 1896 who termed
the behaviors as dementia praecox. The signs were further divided into two, that is, dementia
paranoids as well as catatonic. Moreover, it was thought that the disorder was an early onset
dementia to the degeneration of the brain. Schizophrenia is described as a disorder of volition,
thinking and affect. For the medical test and diagnosis of the disorder, psychotic signs mist have
been vitally present for about a month having certain indication of the disorder being present in
the body for about six months. The signs and symptoms are normally linked to a reduction in
social or occupation functioning of a person. The disease normally attacks at the ages between 16
and 30 years and men usually show the symptoms at a relatively younger age than their women
counterpart (Horrell & Kneipp, 2017). In numerous instances, schizophrenia develops gradually
that the person does not even recognize that they have suffering from the disorder for several
years (Ayano, 2019). Nevertheless, in other instances, it can affect suddenly as well as develop
quickly. It is key to note that the disorder affects about one percent of adults in the world.
Empirical research studies states that schizophrenia is probably numerous illness acting as one.
Non-pharmacological Treatment of schizophrenia
Owing to the intricate nature of the disorder, the treatment normally entails both the non-
pharmacological as well as pharmacological therapies (Kiran, Prassana, Latha & Reddy, 2019).
Even though non-pharmacological interventions can be viewed as treatment modalities which
cannot change schizophrenia chemistry, they may aid individuals learn how to manage their

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illness (Alugo et al. 2017). Maintaining employment, creating a healthy relationship learning
from people who struggle with mental disorder, as well as taking part in cognitive behavioral
treatment may all be appropriate components of an individual’s treatment. Current research as
well as systematic reviews state that both the psychosocial as well as pharmacological
interventions, given in initially to individuals presenting with the disorder as well as other
psychotic disorders, may enhance their prognosis and even aid in preventing their illness
chronicity (Lado-Codesido, Méndez, Mateos, Olivares & García, 2019).
There are five major categories of non-pharmacological treatment have been used in the
community-based intervention of treatment with the disorder, with empirical of efficacy on
relapse treatment as well as control of symptoms. The five levels are normally cognitive therapy,
majorly cognitive remediation therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, family intervention,
psychoeducation programs, training programs, family intervention, social skills, and case
intervention or management (Liu et al. 2019). The paper will discuss cognitive behavioral
treatment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and schizophrenia
Initially, schizophrenia was treated using antipsychotic therapy only, yet currently the
perceptions of the disorder have gradually changed. This has enabled cognitive behavioral
therapy to be recognized as a vital treatment option for the condition. However, only a few
people who are suffering from the disorder can access this type of non-pharmacological therapy.
Schizophrenia diagnosis is done when a person presents with positive signs like delusions,
disorganized behaviors or speech, hallucinations, negative signs like lack of motivation and lack
of speech (Ek-uma, Jintana & Waraporn, 2019). Previously, neoplastic treatment was the only
viable treatment method for individuals having schizophrenia. Neuroleptics usually have good

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positive effect on the signs and symptoms of the schizophrenia, potentially decreasing the
delusional ideation or degree of intensity. Nevertheless, it has been proven that they normally do
not work for about 31% of individuals taking them who are described as having symptoms which
are resistant to treatment. Medical practitioners have thus, endorsed both pharmacological and
cognitive behavioral therapy as intervention options for any person having schizophrenia
diagnosis. There has been increasing interest in non-pharmacological interventions entailing
psychotherapy in managing schizophrenia. Currently, this has entailed adapting cognitive
behavioral therapy models initially applied mainly in the management of depression disorders for
application with people having more critical mental illness.
Cognitive behavioral therapy in schizophrenia was initially designed to offer extra
treatment for. signs and symptoms that were considered residual, using the principles and the
interventions approaches which were previously designed for depression as well as anxiety. it
should be noted that pharmacological treatment may leave approximately 65% of the mentally ill
patients with negative as well as positive signs, even when the individuals are following their
medication instructions. Moreover, the medication rules remain a huge challenge in spite the
introduction of the current atypical antipsychotics. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been viewed
as an effective treatment for depressive illness for numerous years. The treatment option is used
for people with schizophrenia whose psychotic symptom are not controlled by pharmacological
options. Cognitive behavioral therapy is greatly standardized and structured treatment to aid
individuals with the disorder cope with their psychotic signs by evaluating and reexamining their
perception and thoughts of experiences.

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The role of a nurse in cognitive behavioral therapy
For the cognitive behavioral therapy to be successful, the therapist or a nurse must accept
the perception of the patient of reality and determines how to apply the misinterpretation to aid
the individual in appropriately managing his or her life challenges (Probst et al. 2018). Nurses
should ensure that individuals having first episode of the disorder should be given oral
antipsychotic treatment together with non-pharmacological treatments like individual cognitive
behavioral therapy and family intervention. Nurses are required to offer pieces of advice to
individuals who want to use psychological treatment options alone that such interventions are
usually effective and efficient when used together with antipsychotic treatment. It should be
noted that cognitive behavioral therapy should be offered on one-on-one basis for about sixteen
sessions while other medical professionals have held the view that brief cognitive behavioral
therapy offered in about five sessions may be vital. There are numerous ways in which cognitive
behavioral therapy may be applied for individuals experiencing schizophrenia. The initial step
that nurses should use is developing a framework for cognitive behavioral therapy for
normalizing psychotic experiences. The goal is to make experiences linked to psychosis less
challenging as well as demystify the disorder that hearing voices is a normal thing, and stating
that paranoia and hallucinations are similar to other daily mental states.
One of the special techniques that a nurse uses in cognitive behavioral therapy for
individuals having schizophrenia is normalizing the rationale, whereby the patient having poor
management ability as well as social withdrawal from health care services in improved and
facilitated to integrally design efficiently management strategies, resulting in symptomatic
enhancements (Paris et al. 2018). It should be noted that cognitive behavioral therapy usually
requires skilled as well as experienced nurses, a clear description of the effective and essential

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elements of the treatment option as well as management of the practical demands on individuals
in relation to time for regular treatment sessions as well as the demand for greater levels of
insight and concentration.

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