Hi there Michelle, We asked mental health expert Addam Gross to share his recommendations and here's what he had to say.
"Schizophrenia can be a very devastating mental illness especially going untreated by professionals. With schizophrenia there are some common characteristics or symptoms that last at least 1 month in duration, often without treatment symptoms can present on and off for a lifetime for many. These symptoms are: Delusions (the belief in an idea that is founded on reality), hallucinations (auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile), disorganized speech (incoherent speech or derailment of dialogue), grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior (motoric immobility or peculiar movements), and other negative symptoms or parts of the person that are loss (loss of emotion). These symptoms will most likely cause major social and occupational functioning which can exacerbate the symptoms due to increased stress levels and or threats to safety and security for the person. Schizophrenia has a few subtypes: The paranoid type, disorganized type, catatonic type, undifferentiated type, and the residual type.
Early in my career I was able to work on an outreach team to engage people with serious mental illnesses (many had schizophrenia) into seeking help. This sounds like an easy sell, but the reality is that many people are not well enough to recognize their need for help or have symptoms of paranoia or delusions that inhibit them from seeking help. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge on where to start, especially if the person does not have the financial means to pay for treatment. Here is what I learned in my experiences:
1. You have to have a relationship with the person and a certain level of trust needs to be present. You have to remember that this person may be scared or out of touch with reality and may not feel they can trust anyone at that moment in time.
2. You can’t make someone get help if they don’t want it. Unless there are serious risk issues with the person’s safety or the safety of others, there are usually some sort of state laws that prohibit people being detained against their wills because someone is just concerned about them. This was incredibly frustrating for me because it was obvious the people needed help but they were not severe enough for the “system” to address these people’s needs. Civil commitments are possible where a person can get picked up through a court order (once again, there has to be evidence that the person is in some sort of danger or is a danger to others) and will be evaluated for up 72 hours in many cases. At that point treatment can be court ordered in the client’s best interest which may be against their wishes at the time.
3. “Hold the Hope.” What I mean is that you or someone close to the person should keep trying and don’t give up. Learn to accept any declines in treatment as a choice and not personal rejection. As I mentioned earlier, a person’s symptoms will come and go often and sometimes the best time to engage a person is when their symptomology is not at its worst. A wise mentor once told me, “Wait for that window to open with the person and when it does be ready.” Meaning, keep working on developing your rapport and when the timing is right have a plan in place to seek help fast. Those windows can close rather fast from my experience. You may want to explore options for treatment in the public and private sector and how to access these services. Which hospitals could the person go to for medication stabilization? Is there a public mental health center or community mental health center that a person could get low cost or free help at? If the person is needing to be hospitalized, who will take care of there home/pets? Try to think of as many possible pitfalls for not seeking treatment and have a plan to address these issues to put the person at ease. To seek more information, you can contact NAMI (National Alliance for Mentally Ill). They have support groups for friends and family and truckloads of educational materials usually for free."
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Hi there Michelle, We asked mental health expert Addam Gross to share his recommendations and here's what he had to say.
"Schizophrenia can be a very devastating mental illness especially going untreated by professionals. With schizophrenia there are some common characteristics or symptoms that last at least 1 month in duration, often without treatment symptoms can present on and off for a lifetime for many. These symptoms are: Delusions (the belief in an idea that is founded on reality), hallucinations (auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile), disorganized speech (incoherent speech or derailment of dialogue), grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior (motoric immobility or peculiar movements), and other negative symptoms or parts of the person that are loss (loss of emotion). These symptoms will most likely cause major social and occupational functioning which can exacerbate the symptoms due to increased stress levels and or threats to safety and security for the person. Schizophrenia has a few subtypes: The paranoid type, disorganized type, catatonic type, undifferentiated type, and the residual type.
Early in my career I was able to work on an outreach team to engage people with serious mental illnesses (many had schizophrenia) into seeking help. This sounds like an easy sell, but the reality is that many people are not well enough to recognize their need for help or have symptoms of paranoia or delusions that inhibit them from seeking help. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge on where to start, especially if the person does not have the financial means to pay for treatment. Here is what I learned in my experiences:
1. You have to have a relationship with the person and a certain level of trust needs to be present. You have to remember that this person may be scared or out of touch with reality and may not feel they can trust anyone at that moment in time.
2. You can’t make someone get help if they don’t want it. Unless there are serious risk issues with the person’s safety or the safety of others, there are usually some sort of state laws that prohibit people being detained against their wills because someone is just concerned about them. This was incredibly frustrating for me because it was obvious the people needed help but they were not severe enough for the “system” to address these people’s needs. Civil commitments are possible where a person can get picked up through a court order (once again, there has to be evidence that the person is in some sort of danger or is a danger to others) and will be evaluated for up 72 hours in many cases. At that point treatment can be court ordered in the client’s best interest which may be against their wishes at the time.
3. “Hold the Hope.” What I mean is that you or someone close to the person should keep trying and don’t give up. Learn to accept any declines in treatment as a choice and not personal rejection. As I mentioned earlier, a person’s symptoms will come and go often and sometimes the best time to engage a person is when their symptomology is not at its worst. A wise mentor once told me, “Wait for that window to open with the person and when it does be ready.” Meaning, keep working on developing your rapport and when the timing is right have a plan in place to seek help fast. Those windows can close rather fast from my experience. You may want to explore options for treatment in the public and private sector and how to access these services. Which hospitals could the person go to for medication stabilization? Is there a public mental health center or community mental health center that a person could get low cost or free help at? If the person is needing to be hospitalized, who will take care of there home/pets? Try to think of as many possible pitfalls for not seeking treatment and have a plan to address these issues to put the person at ease. To seek more information, you can contact NAMI (National Alliance for Mentally Ill). They have support groups for friends and family and truckloads of educational materials usually for free."
For more about Addam Gross, please visit glpco.qwestoffice.net/
February 2, 2009 - 10:07amThis Comment
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