Schizophrenia Spectrum Case
After studying Module 7: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Case Study
Mr. T is a 21-year-old man who is brought to the ER by his mother after
he began talking about “aliens” who were trying to steal his soul. Mr. T
reports that aliens left messages for him by arranging sticks outside his
home and sometimes send thoughts into his mind.
On exam, he is guarded and often stops talking while in the middle
of expressing a thought. Mr. T appears anxious and frequently scans the
room for aliens, which he thinks may have followed him to the hospital.
He denies any plan to harm himself but admits that the
aliens sometimes want him to throw himself in front of a car, “as this
will change the systems that belong under us.”
The patient’s mother reports that he began expressing these ideas a few
months ago, but that they have become more severe in the last
few weeks. She reports that during the past year, he has become
isolated from his peers, frequently talks to himself, and has stopped
going to community college. He has also spent most of his time reading
science fiction books and creating devices that will prevent aliens from
hurting him. She reports that she is concerned because the patient’s
father, who left while the patient was a child, exhibited similar symptoms
many years ago and has spent most of his life in a psychiatric hospital.
Question
s:
Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical
guidelines to create your evidence-based treatment plan. At all times,
explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case including the significant subjective
and objective data.
2. Generate a primary and two differential diagnoses. Use the DSM5
to support the assessment. Include the DSM5 and ICD 10 codes.
3. Discuss a pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Use
the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this treatment.
4. Discuss non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Use the clinical guidelines to support the rationale for this
treatment.
5. Describe a health promotion intervention that would be
appropriate for this patient.
