Antipsychotic drugs have proved their efficiency in the treatment of psychosis and mood disorders. However, sometimes they can have considerable side effects, such as dizziness or tardive dyskinesia, especially in the case with severe symptoms and higher doses of medication (Antipsychotic). To understand why psychiatrists in the past seemed to neglect these side effects while administering drugs to patients, it is necessary to learn more about two existing categories of drugs. While the first-generation (typical) drugs only block dopamine, the second-generation (atypical) drugs, which are more elaborate, also affect serotonin levels.
Statistics show that some of the second-generation drugs have milder movement-related adverse effects than the first-generation drugs (Antipsychotic). That means psychiatrists in the past had to opt for the older type of medications because they did not have a safer alternative. Moreover, patients who experienced severe forms of disorders were likely to agree to the use of the typical drugs despite the possibility of side effects. People wanted to cope with their mental illnesses, which seemed to justify the choice of the second-generation drugs that could be harmful to them.
Auditory hallucination is a phenomenon when a person perceives such sounds as voices or music without any auditory stimulus, which means they are imaginary. If the hallucinations are positive, the patient can learn to live with them (Kerkar, 2017). However, sometimes patients hear voices that threaten, pressurize, swear, or control them (Kerkar, 2017). These voices are so persistent and convincing that in the patient’s mind, they seem to belong to real people, which can be extremely threatening. In the beginning, these hallucinations may trigger panic and fear or cause absent-mindedness because the patient loses contact with the real world.
With time, they can lead to insomnia or contribute to the development of paranoia, so the patient feels suspicious about their loved ones or someone else. Moreover, the voices controlling the person’s activity can order them to do something immoral or illegal. From a long-term perspective, these orders are likely to become more dangerous, leading to the patient causing enormous harm to themselves or people around. Thus, if the patient does not understand that the voices are imaginary, they stop being reasonable.
Understanding each patient is essential for the therapy to be productive. That is why many clinicians prefer to work with people whose problems are similar to his or her own. On the one hand, this choice is consistent with the latest trends in psychotherapy, such as mutuality and collaboration (DeAngelis, 2019). These principles imply that the therapist and the patient commit to being partners, working together to define and actualize therapy goals.
Evidence suggests that mutual and collaborative approaches are beneficial for the patient’s mental health functioning (DeAngelis, 2019). Certainly, these approaches are easier to implement when the clinician bases their knowledge about the patient’s state on personal experience. Moreover, the patient is more likely to reveal their feelings and thoughts to the therapist who understands what they are coming through. On the other hand, this kind of interaction between the session’s participants has some drawbacks. Sometimes the therapist can recommend the patient a solution that worked for them, but it will not be as efficient for the patient. Thus, the clinician should remember that although they have the same problem, the patient still has a different personality.
References
Antipsychotic medications. CAMH. Web.
DeAngelis, Tori. (2019). Better relationships with patients lead to better outcomes. APA. Web.
Kerkar, Pramod. (2017). Auditory hallucinations: types, causes, treatment. Pain Assist. Web.