Psychosis and Schizophrenia in Children and Young People


Book Description

These guidelines from NICE set out clear recommendations, based on the best available evidence, for health care professionals on how to work with and implement physical, psychological and service-level interventions for people with various mental health conditions.The book contains the full guidelines that cannot be obtained in print anywhere else. It brings together all of the evidence that led to the recommendations made, detailed explanations of the methodology behind their preparation, plus an overview of the condition covering detection, diagnosis and assessment, and the full range of treatment and care approaches. There is a worse prognosis for psychosis and schizophrenia when onset is in childhood or adolescence, and this new NICE guideline puts much-needed emphasis on early recognition and assessment of possible psychotic symptoms. For the one-third of children and young people who go on to experience severe impairment as a result of psychosis or schizophrenia the guideline also offers comprehensive advice from assessment and treatment of the first episode through to promoting recovery.This guideline reviews the evidence for recognition and management of psychosis and schizophrenia in children and young people across the care pathway, encompassing access to and delivery of services, experience of care, recognition and management of at-risk mental states, psychological and pharmacological interventions, and improving cognition and enhancing engagement with education and employment.




Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders


Book Description

This volume reviews the latest information about the treatment and prevention of major mental disorders that emerge during adolescence. It should be a primary resource for both clinicians and researchers, with special attention to gaps in our knowledge.







Schizo-Obsessive Disorder


Book Description

This is the first book to address the clinical and neurobiological interface between schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). There is growing evidence that obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia are prevalent, persistent and characterized by a distinct pattern of familial inheritance, neurocognitive deficits and brain activation. This text provides guidelines for differential diagnosis of schizophrenic patients with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and patients with primary OCD alongside poor insight, psychotic features or schizotypal personality. Written by a leading expert in the coexistence of obsessive-compulsive and schizophrenic phenomena, Schizo-Obsessive Disorder uses numerous case studies to present diagnostic guidelines and to describe a recommended treatment algorithm, demystifying this complex disorder and aiding its effective management. The book is essential reading for psychiatrists, neurologists and the wider range of multidisciplinary mental health practitioners.




Adolescent Schizophrenia


Book Description

Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that impacts a broad range of a person's social and developmental functioning. Until the recent past, most of the research done on schizophrenia did not include children or adolescents who suffer from the disorder. During adolescence, important changes take place in brain development. These changes make adolescence a period of both vulnerability and opportunity. Emergence of psychosis and schizophrenia may be associated with abnormal brain development during adolescence. This book discusses the findings of studies that focus on abnormal brain development during the premorbid period of psychosis and schizophrenia. Cognitive neuroscience constructs of visuospatial memory and working memory are associated with adult- and adolescent-onset schizophrenia. This book reviews the existing literature on the topic and explores the nature of and association between visuospatial memory in adolescent onset schizophrenia. The prevalence of psychotic symptoms in the general population, particularly in children and adolescents, is also explored. The significance of psychotic symptoms in relation to psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, and its relation to social factors, such as childhood abuse is examined. To deal with schizophrenic young patients in a hospital, psychoanalytical psychotherapeutic "teamwork" is reviewed. The transference relation between patient and therapist, and what it entails, is also discussed.




Me, Myself, and Them : A Firsthand Account of One Young Person's Experience with Schizophrenia


Book Description

During his second semester at college, Kurt Snyder became convinced that he was about to discover a fabulously important mathematical principle, spending hours lost in daydreams about numbers and symbols. In time, his thoughts took a darker turn, and he became preoccupied with the idea that cars were following him, or that strangers wanted to harm him. Kurt's mind had been hijacked by schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that typically strikes during the late teen or young adult years. In Me, Myself, and Them, Kurt, now an adult, looks back from the vantage point of recovery and eloquently describes the debilitating changes in thoughts and perceptions that took hold of his life during his teens and twenties. As a memoir, this book is remarkable for its unvarnished look at the slow and difficult process of coming back from severe mental illness. Yet Kurt's memoir is only half the story. With the help of psychiatrist Raquel E. Gur, M.D., Ph.D., and veteran science writer Linda Wasmer Andrews, Kurt paints the big picture for others affected by adolescent schizophrenia. Drawing on the latest scientific and medical evidence, he explains how to recognize warning signs, where to find help, and what treatments have proved effective. Kurt also offers practical advice on topics of particular interest to young people, such as suggestions on managing the illness at home, school, and work, and in relationships with family and friends. Part of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative series of books written specifically for teens and young adults, My, Myself, and Them offers hope to young people who are struggling with schizophrenia, helping them to understand and manage the challenges of this illness and go on to lead healthy lives.




Psychosis in Childhood and Adolescence


Book Description

Psychosis in Childhood and Adolescence offers an in-depth examination of the nature of psychosis, its risk factors and its manifestations in children and adolescents who experience a continuum of emotional disorders. The chapters present a hopeful, research-based framework for treatment. They emphasize combined treatment that is based on psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy principles, pharmacological interventions and supportive family approaches that reflect the vulnerabilities and resources of the individual child. This text highlights the importance of thorough assessment and the need for long-term treatment that facilitates the psychotic child’s healthy maturation. Readers will benefit from the case examples that illustrate the complexity of psychosis and the discussions of diagnostic and treatment issues as presented by experienced clinicians and researchers.




The Complex Connection between Cannabis and Schizophrenia


Book Description

The Complex Connection between Cannabis and Schizophrenia provides an in-depth overview of the current state of research into the role that cannabis plays in schizophrenia, covering both the pathophysiological and the pharmacological implications. It addresses the epidemiology of cannabis use and the risks associated with its use, the biological aspects of the drug, its effects on the brain and the pharmacological possibilities of using cannabidiol to treat schizophrenia. It is the only book on the market devoted exclusively to examining the links between this very commonly used (and misused) drug and a specific set of devastating psychiatric illnesses, providing a comprehensive guide to our current understandings of this relationship. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug globally, and is becoming increasingly decriminalized and even legalized worldwide. Among the numerous mental-health concerns related to the drug, there is mounting evidence of an intricate link between cannabis use and schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. At the same time, there is promising evidence to suggest that cannabidiol, one of the many compounds found in cannabis that activates the brain's cannabinoid receptors, could prove to be an effective antipsychotic to treat schizophrenia. - Synthesizes existing knowledge about the confusing, but crucial, relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia symptoms - Provides a comprehensive overview of the neurobiological mechanisms of cannabis use and its effects on the brain, including an exploration of the endocannabinoid system - Examines the promising evidence suggesting cannabidiol as an effective antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia - Aids readers studying the neurobiological underpinning of cannabis addiction and psychosis in determining directions for their own future research




Psychosis with Coexisting Substance Misuse


Book Description

This text sets out clear recommendations for healthcare staff (based on the best available evidence) on how to assess and manage adults and young people (aged 14+) who have both psychosis and a substance misuse problem, in order to integrate treatment for both conditions and thus improve their care.




Women & Psychosis


Book Description

Interrogating the relationship between women and psychosis from a variety of perspectives, this edited collection explores personal, literary, spiritual, psychological, biological, and psychodynamic approaches. The contributors reflect on medieval mystics and witches, postpartum psychosis, disordered eating, art and literature, feminism, and male/female differences in schizophrenia. Women with experience of psychosis, psychotherapists, and a shaman provide first-person accounts to give the book a personal grounding. Curated with the intent to expand the way we think about women and psychosis, the contributors to this collection recognize that “voices and visions” do not occur in a vacuum, but are experienced within, and are influenced by, particular socio-cultural contexts.