Case Study Paper
Paranoid Schizophrenia: A Clinical Case Study
Milcah Prasad
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Introduction Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that is characterized by having psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disconnect with reality, and illogical thinking patterns for at least one month and having a major impact in the lives of the individuals, their family and friends (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). According to the statistics, “1 in 100 people develop schizophrenia. In the United States, 2- 3 million people have the illness” (Mueser & Gingerich, 2006). The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of schizophrenia and to consider various evidenced based treatment options in psychiatric nursing.
Brief Description of the Client DO is a 36 year old African-American woman who was admitted on February 1, 2011, to the Psychiatric Unit of Howard County General Hospital. She was brought to the hospital involuntarily by her mother through the emergency department. The reason for the current psychiatric hospitalization is non-compliance to medications, a potential risk of safety for self and others, and delusional thinking. She denies having any mental illness and therefore she flushes her medications down the toilet. DO stopped complying with her medication regimen while she was pregnant with her baby because she believed that the medication would harm the growing fetus. Two months after she delivered her baby, she took the baby and locked the baby in a room without feeding her child. Her mother began to notice that the symptoms were getting worse and brought DO to the hospital in desperation. DO believes that Usher, a famous R&B/Pop singer, is her fiancé and that he is planning their wedding. She also believes that he is her high school sweetheart, dedicated a song for her, made an announcement on the radio confessing his love for her, and bought her a nice house in Baltimore. She
Milcah Prasad
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Introduction Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that is characterized by having psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disconnect with reality, and illogical thinking patterns for at least one month and having a major impact in the lives of the individuals, their family and friends (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). According to the statistics, “1 in 100 people develop schizophrenia. In the United States, 2- 3 million people have the illness” (Mueser & Gingerich, 2006). The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of schizophrenia and to consider various evidenced based treatment options in psychiatric nursing.
Brief Description of the Client DO is a 36 year old African-American woman who was admitted on February 1, 2011, to the Psychiatric Unit of Howard County General Hospital. She was brought to the hospital involuntarily by her mother through the emergency department. The reason for the current psychiatric hospitalization is non-compliance to medications, a potential risk of safety for self and others, and delusional thinking. She denies having any mental illness and therefore she flushes her medications down the toilet. DO stopped complying with her medication regimen while she was pregnant with her baby because she believed that the medication would harm the growing fetus. Two months after she delivered her baby, she took the baby and locked the baby in a room without feeding her child. Her mother began to notice that the symptoms were getting worse and brought DO to the hospital in desperation. DO believes that Usher, a famous R&B/Pop singer, is her fiancé and that he is planning their wedding. She also believes that he is her high school sweetheart, dedicated a song for her, made an announcement on the radio confessing his love for her, and bought her a nice house in Baltimore. She
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