Treatment Support and Interventions for Schizophrenia (Essay Sample)

Treatment Support and Interventions for Schizophrenia
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Treatment Support and Interventions for Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that exhibits abnormalities in thought patterns and the grasp of realities in life. There has been a surge in the population of people reporting schizophrenic symptoms globally due to the progressive reduction in social stigma towards patients. The percentage of people living with schizophrenia stands at slightly above 1.1 percent globally, with the population in the United States being approximately 2.4 million (Ong Ibrahim & Wahab, 2016). The statistics indicate a dire need for concerted efforts to spread awareness about the schizophrenia and establish institutions to empower people with the mental disorder. Rigorous and comprehensive research needs to accompany the sensitization and support efforts to produce more effective medication and therapeutic protocols (Cohen et al., 2017). The paper focuses on Cecilia McGough’s experience with schizophrenia, stages of the mental illness and diagnostic confirmation methods. The discussion also addresses the individualized treatment plan, the long term challenges and the support required as well as the role of identity characteristics such as race and social economic factors in shaping the experience of people with schizophrenia.
Description of McGough’s Experiences with Schizophrenia
Cecilia McGough’s experience with schizophrenia cements the argument that the mental illness manifests uniquely in each patient. Though McGough had the mental disorder all through her life, the symptoms became more prominent at the preliminary levels of her high school education. As noted from the video, Cecilia had a more aggressive encounter with schizophrenia in 2014 during her first year in college, which points to a fairly late onset of the mental illness (McGough, 2017). In terms of associated features, Cecilia’s experience with schizophrenia got expressed in incessant hallucinations that affected her social interactions and ability to concentrate in class. The hallucinations, including extraordinarily huge spiders represent positive symptoms in the form of enhanced manifestations of normal phenomena.