Mental Health Practice: Exploring Psychotic Symptoms and Treatments

This report delves into the realm of mental health practice, specifically focusing on psychotic symptoms and their connection to cognitive disturbances. The assignment examines the challenges faced by clinicians in distinguishing between normal and psychotic minds, highlighting the difficulties in diagnosing and treating patients exhibiting symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding the continuum between ordinary and psychotic experiences, and the need for clinicians to adopt approaches that facilitate open communication and avoid stigmatization. The report references relevant research and advocates for a comprehensive approach that considers both biological and social factors contributing to psychotic symptoms, ultimately aiming to improve patient care and outcomes. The report also mentions that the clinicians should be able to normalize the psychotic symptoms to the patients by speaking about their own experiences so that the patient can find it easy to speak about their condition.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE 1
Mental Health Practice
Student’s Name
Date of Submission

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"If one accepts that certain psychotic symptoms are amplified disturbances of the cognitive
processes explored in the exercises, the frequency of these states in the community adds further
evidence for a continuum between psychosis and ordinary mind."
Generally, there does not exists any much difference between an ordinary mind and a
psychotic mind. This is because it is possible to find an ordinary mind going through
extraordinary things. For instance, an adult man can be going through all the rooms in his house
with claims that he is hearing the voice of a deceased relative, hence following it. This sounds
quite abnormal but it occurs, indicating a new emerging experience which suggests that there is a
continuum between an ordinary mind and psychosis, and hence difficulties by clinicians in
handling these conditions. In most cases, the clinicians interview patients in order to make a
diagnosis but patients may view the interview as labelling and hence withdraw from seeking
treatment. This is true because there are some psychotic symptoms which may manifest among
patients such as delusions and hallucinations, who have not been diagnosed with mental
illnesses. According to this statement, since there are increased cases of the psychotic behaviors,
it calls for a need for continuous efforts by clinicians to make distinct differences between
normal minds and psychotic minds, though they may be presenting with similar symptoms.
Bearing the understanding that psychotic symptoms involves the increased cognitive
disturbances, then clinicians can use analogues to psychosis about themselves so that the patient
finds it easy to speak about their condition because they have known that the doctor has also had
a similar experience. In most cases however, patients with psychotic symptoms may isolate
themselves with fears that the clinicians might label them as mentally ‘ill’. Since no claims in the

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exercises of this article indicate that there are psychotic illnesses, clinicians should explore into
other factors contributing factors, either biological and social, leading to psychotic symptoms.

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References
Garrett, M., Stone, D., & Turkington, D. (2006). Normalizing psychotic symptoms. Psychology
and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 79(4), 595-610.