Can you see a therapist for schizophrenia?

According to 2022 statistics, the WHO reports that “Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people or 1 in 300 people (0.32%) worldwide.” Although its symptoms are unique, and it isn’t as common as many other mental health disorders, schizophrenia can be managed by working with a therapist.

Even in cases when multiple signs of schizophrenia are apparent, not everyone around the individual may realize that schizophrenia may be an issue. In some cases, the individual may simply be told to "get over it" or otherwise pull themselves together by people who don’t understand the severity of the issue. This can have damaging consequences when the individual with schizophrenia doesn’t receive a diagnosis, medication and treatment because they don’t understand their condition is a serious mental health issue. 

What causes schizophrenia?

While a definitive cause has not yet been identified or determined, there are some factors that specialists believe can cause, contribute to, or worsen one's susceptibility to schizophrenia. Although scientists aren’t sure exactly how genetics plays a role in schizophrenia, it is one of the most prominent factors that experts believe causes the condition. 

There also exists a link between issues with pregnancy/childbirth and the development of schizophrenia. Children who are born prematurely or who do not get full amounts of oxygen to their brains can sometimes develop schizophrenia. It's important to note that issues during pregnancy or childbirth do not automatically guarantee that a baby will develop schizophrenia later in life. 

Neurotransmitters, stress, use of drugs/alcohol, and dopamine imbalance also contribute notable ties to schizophrenia or the triggering of schizophrenic symptoms and side effects.

Treating schizophrenia

Treating schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, like schizoaffective disorder, requires antipsychotic drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist.

Antipsychotic medications (such as first-generation antipsychotics or atypical antipsychotics) can help control the symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and delusions. They can be an important part of schizophrenia treatment for many, especially when used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.

The advice learned here is particularly helpful when working with people living with schizophrenia because it allows them to cope with symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations as well as deal with the symptoms of depression that can exist alongside them. Additional benefits of working with a cognitive behavioral therapist include general improvements in the patient's quality of life and productive goal setting.

According to the National Alliance On Mental Illness, psychosocial therapy, which is psychotherapy combined with social and vocational training, can also be an excellent option for those experiencing many mental health conditions—such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and more. The ideas that the therapist teaches here can help people with schizophrenia integrate into society.

In addition to individual counseling, most treatment plans for those with schizophrenia include regular family therapy. With the de-institutionalization of cases of schizophrenia in the US, the role of the caregiver often falls to the family. As in any caregiving situation, this can cause stress on the family unit. Because of its nature, schizophrenia can particularly impact relationships, and family counseling is essential to assist families in coping with the emotional and occupational challenges that come with caring for someone with the disorder.

In addition to providing much-needed support to the family, it helps the family cope with and manage their behaviors toward the schizophrenic patient, which can have a large impact on the patient’s recovery and instances of relapse. A 2015 publication on the role of family counseling in managing schizophrenia reports that “Negative attitudes toward the patient, such as high levels of expressed emotion (EE) involving criticism, over-involvement, and intrusiveness, and the attribution of symptoms to the patient’s willpower have been shown to be related to worse prognosis of the illness.” 

Essential things to know about schizophrenia

There are many existing misconceptions regarding this mental health issue and all that it entails. This could partially be due to the dramatic and potentially upsetting symptoms that can sometimes come with it, but the fact that schizophrenia isn’t a common disorder may contribute, too. With so few cases, there are few people out there who know someone personally with schizophrenia. This leads to a measure of ignorance in the general population about the nature of the disorder. 

The idea that schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder (sometimes known as multiple personality disorder) are the same is incorrect. Although both may show symptoms of hallucination and delusions, they also have symptoms that are unique to the disorder. Also, it is widely accepted that schizophrenia is an organic disorder with roots in genetics. DID is thought to develop as a form of coping for people with exposure to serious trauma such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, exposure to war, natural disasters, etc.