The article “Schizophrenia: A Sibling's Tale” provides an overview of one of the most neglected sides of severe mental illnesses. I think the article does a great job of illuminating how serious mental health conditions such as schizophrenia can have adverse impacts on familial ties. The article is based on the story of an individual narrating how the life of her younger brother changed when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 18. Chun-Ti YU & Fei-Hsiu HSIAO (2019) assert that schizophrenia is a complex mental health disorder hallmarked by a host of symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, impaired cognitive ability, and disorganized speech among others. What makes this article unique is the ability to explain the social impacts that schizophrenia has, especially at the level of the family.
The article also relates to several topics in the textbook. The author draws a close relationship between mental health and the problem of stigmatization. Bowman & Kirby (2009) explain how people with schizophrenia are painted as violent, have split personality disorders, and can also exhibit inappropriate sexual behavior. Most importantly, the authors in this article address the implications of mental health (schizophrenia) for practice, something that we have covered in the class textbook. Nørgaard et al. (2019) assert that psychiatric care ensures that the long-term outcomes of the patients are achieved. The outcomes include remission, recovery, and prevention of disease progression. Also, the family should be considered a fundamental aspect of the treatment process. The family members are at the helm of preventing adverse health outcomes such as relapse and enhancing coping strategies.
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One of the most critical questions that the article raises regards the role of the family in dealing with the stigma that is directed towards their family member with a severe mental health condition. As illustrated in the article, the family remains the most important social unit that protects the patient from unwarranted stigmatization and painting by society. However, in most cases, the family is powerless. Thus, the article invokes a challenge to family members to come up with mechanisms that could prevent their loved ones with mental disorders from the harm resulting from stigmatization. The negative effects of schizophrenia are many and far-reaching. Individuals are likely to experience a lack of emotion and social dysfunction. The reduced cognitive ability interferes with their ability to interact with others in a meaningful way. Another fundamental symptom associated with schizophrenia is disorganized speech (AiBao Zhou, Pei Xie, ChaoChao Pan, Zhe Tian, & Junwei Xie, 2019).
The positive symptoms associated with schizophrenia, as illustrated by Chun-Ti YU et al. (2019), include delusion, hallucinations, and racing thoughts. All these are altered mental pictures and perceptions that result due to chemical imbalances in the brain and reduced cognitive functioning. The first therapy described in the article is known as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It is a cognitive-based therapy that focuses on replacing negative thought processes with the positive ones. Bowman & Kirby (2009) say, “Evidence suggests that therapies such as CBT can be part of treatment to reduce the impact of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.” The second method discussed is known as family therapy. Family therapy, as a strategy, is based on the expressed emotion theory (EE). The theory states that positive communication between the family members and the patient could prevent the progression of the condition and the adverse instances such as relapse.
Finally, medication as a strategy has also received attention in the article. The patient was given antipsychotic drugs to help alleviate his condition. AiBao Zhou et al. (2019) mention antipsychotic drugs such as chlorpromazine and fluphenazine as possible solutions.
References
AiBao Zhou, Pei Xie, ChaoChao Pan, Zhe Tian, & Junwei Xie. (2019). Performance of patients with different schizophrenia subtypes on the Synthetic House–Tree–Person Test. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 47(11), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.8408
Bowman, L., & Kirby, S. (2009). Schizophrenia: a sibling’s tale. Mental Health Practice, 13(1), 18–22. doi:10.7748/mhp2009.09.13.1.18.c7233
Chun-Ti YU & Fei-Hsiu HSIAO. (2019). Body Image in Schizophrenia. Journal of Nursing, 66(5), 25–30. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=138770041&site=eds-live
Nørgaard, H. C. B., Schou Pedersen, H., Fenger-Grøn, M., Vestergaard, M., Nordentoft, M., Laursen, T. M., & Mors, O. (2019). Schizophrenia and attendance in primary healthcare: a population-based matched cohort study. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 37(3), 358–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2019.1639927
