What is Psychosis

This is where your perception of reality is not reality. This can be hallucinations, delusions etc. and really it is disruption to cognitive abilities

Key features

The key features of Psychotic disorders are

  • Delusions: thoughts that are fixed and cannot be changed. Can be bizarre or not.
  • Hallucinations: Percieve things that aren’t there.
  • Disorganised thinking and speech
  • Grossly disorganised or abnormal motor behaviour
  • Negative symptoms

Disorders listed as psychotic spectrum disorders


How to assess?

  • Medical exam
  • Mental state exam
  • In-depth history (you need to know how long this is happening)
  • Co-lateral information (talk to someone else who knows them)

Treatment and management

  • Holistic support
  • Medication
  • psychotherapy
  • Community support
  • Nursing
  • culture specific interventions
  • Spiritual interventions

Summary

Associated Lecture, comments and requirements

Associated lecture: L13 Psychological Medicine Introduction to psychotic spectrum disorders

Objectives

  • Know the definition of psychosis
  • Know the key features that define psychotic spectrum disorders
  • Know which disorders are included in the DSM 5 TR as psychotic spectrum disorders
  • Be able to distiguish between the various psychotic spectrum disorders included in the DSM 5 tr
  • Know the prevalence social impact and cost of schizophrenia in nz
  • Know how psychosis is assessed
  • Know how psychosis and schizophrenia is typically treated