help me with my psychology as homework!!?

Question

hey there,
ive just stated my new AS levles and im having some truble so if anyone can help id really appreciate it..


right here we go! ..

CASE STUDY TASK
consider the following case studies and decide whether their behaviour is abnormal or not, give explantations for your answer, also consider possible causes for their behaviour and ways it could be treated.
ok so that was the intro kinda thingg..

the one im stuck on is this..
a young man who lives with his mother believes that the world beyond his house is filled with radio waves which will insert evil thoughts into his head for this reason he never leaves his house he covers his bedroom windowa with aluminum foil because he believes that will protect him he claims to hear voices which tell him that he should give up the fight against the evil wave.

so im completely stumped i think its some kind of schizophrenia but i have no idea how to right it down and how its caused and the treatments so any help will really be apprectiated!!

thanks everyone rhece x

Answer 1

The point of this homework is probably to demonstrate that there is a LOT of information that goes into a diagnosis, along with practicing what treatments are recommended for different disorders.



He could be schizophrenic, or he could be just a bit eccentric. He could actually be paranoid, or he could be responding (all be it with a very poor understanding of what is happening) to the conditioning media uses to socialize the public. He could have been taught those things by his mother who also believes them.



If he is just eccentric, does he need treatment? If he has schizophrenia, what types of treatments are typically recommended? If it is media socialization issues, should he be medicated, or educated about the conditioning the media uses?



They have given you classic stereotypical symptoms of a disorder, but are asking YOU to decide if it is normal or abnormal, which means you have to investigate other possibilities. This is important, because in real life, a diagnosis like that has far reaching implications for the patient or client. A misdiagnosis made on limited information could be very detrimental. On the other hand, if he is schizophrenic, more information is still needed to determine the specifics of what his treatment would be. In general, he would need meds and cbt, but more information would help determine exactly the route those treatments would take.

Answer 2

He suffers with paranoid schizophrenia.

You've got a couple of approaches to look at for the cause:-

Biological: levels of serotonin.

Genetic: direct relative schizophrenia.

Attachment: schizophrenic mother (where the mother's behaviour & speech is double-binding).



Treatments:-

Medication- anti-psychotic meds, more than likely long-term medication.

Hospitilization- in house therapy, which usually includes medication & some kind of talking therapy.

(Rarely, as it's not known to be very successful) Therapy- more than likely psycho-dynamic & attachment therapy, rather than something like CBT or counselling.



I've given you some help, but the writing part- you have to do yourself!

Good luck.

Answer 3

Since those beliefs are deluded, it looks like psychosis, which is usually a symptom of schizophrenia. The hearing voices pretty well clinches it. Also it clearly greatly affects his quality of life and needs to be treated. The treatment for schizophrenia is anti-psychotic drugs. On a psychology course you probably are not expected to know much about medication. Now if he is not posing a risk to himself or anyone else, he probably can not be forcibly treated. So it is a case of persuading him to take medication. If his main worry is about radio waves, he probably will not object to taking tablets. Probably it would be possible to persuade him to go to a mental hospital asva voluntary patient.

As the medication begins to work, which could take weeks, he will gradually let go of the deluded ideas, at least that is the expectation.

Just a couple of extra tips. Real cases are not quite so neat and tidy. For examplevthere could he depression too. I wouldn't like to live in fear of radio waves, it would kinda get me down. Also voluntary patients sometimes want to go walkabout, so continuing persuasion may be needed to get the patient to comply.