Schizophrenia Treatment in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, OH
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Located in Southwestern and Central Ohio, KAV Mental Health & Psychiatry treats patients from Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, and beyond for their mental health issues. Through our comprehensive range of counseling services and prescription medications, we help our patients understand their mental health struggles and find the most appropriate ways to treat them.
One such issue we treat with care here is schizophrenia, an often-misunderstood mental health disorder. We approach every patient presenting schizophrenia as an individual, and provide a personalized treatment plan to teach them the tools they need to think clearly and manage their symptoms. Read on for more information about schizophrenia and how KAV Mental Health & Psychiatry works to treat it.
What Is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder characterized by difficulty interpreting reality as it is, whether due to hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized thoughts. They may also have issues with thinking clearly, communicating, and connecting with others. Though its symptoms are often played up for dramatic effect (or even laughs) in film and television, schizophrenia has very real and often difficult effects on people, and needs to be treated with care and compassion.
It’s a disorder that makes it difficult for people to see situations objectively, connect with others, and even communicate effectively. When left untreated, schizophrenia can put someone’s wellbeing and even life at risk due to their various difficulties interfacing with reality.
Types of Schizophrenia Symptoms
There are three primary sets of schizophrenia symptoms, and each category presents its own unique set of challenges for the affected person.
Psychotic / Positive Symptoms
These symptoms are the ones most commonly associated with schizophrenia, are sometimes collectively called “psychosis,” and may be the easiest to identify:
- Delusions (false beliefs that are difficult to dispel)
- Hallucinations that seem very real to the person experiencing them
- Voices coming from inside someone’s head, which can be cruel or violent in nature
Negative Symptoms
These symptoms are similar to those of depression, and can make it difficult to accomplish things in a lot of ways. These obstacles may include:
- A loss of drive or motivation
- A lack of emotion about anything, even things they formerly had strong feelings for
- An inability to perform basic tasks
Cognitive / Disorganized Symptoms
Some of these symptoms might resemble disorders such as ADHD. They add to the confusion and inability to communicate that can make schizophrenia an isolating disorder. Examples include:
- Difficulty focusing on a task
- Struggling to process or communicate information
- Finding it hard to plan, act, or control their body well (clumsiness)
CAUSES & RISK FACTORS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
There’s no known single cause of schizophrenia, but there are a few potential risk factors.
- Brain Makeup: issues with neurotransmitters, notably dopamine and glutamate, can interrupt communication signals in the brain and cause schizophrenia
- Genetics: schizophrenia is up to six times more likely to develop if someone else in the family also has schizophrenia
- Environment: research points to viruses or malnutrition during pregnancy, as well as autoimmune disorders, as factors in developing schizophrenia
Long-Term Effects of Schizophrenia
If left untreated, schizophrenia will make it difficult to connect with others, live independently, and ultimately find fulfillment in life. The psychotic symptoms and decreased ability to function impair your ability to foster relationships or hold down a job, and in some cases, can push you toward self-harm.
Schizophrenia symptoms can sometimes come and go in waves, and that’s a large part of why it’s important to get a treatment plan and continue to work with a professional throughout your life. With the right help, you’ll be able to keep your symptoms in check, maintain a clearer sense of reality, and be able to function for yourself.
There’s a lot of hope for people with schizophrenia to live healthy, rewarding lives — it just takes consistent care and work.
Schizophrenia Counseling & Therapy with KAV Mental Health & Psychiatry
At KAV Mental Health & Psychiatry, we are proud to staff highly trained and compassionate mental health doctors, counselors, and therapists. Collectively, our team works together to treat people with schizophrenia on a case-by-case basis, providing each patient with the individualized care they deserve. Through a comprehensive mental health treatment program that combines counseling and therapy with psychiatric care and prescription medication, you can work towards healthier ways of thinking and greater stability.
Treatment often starts with an antipsychotic prescription, and may be supplemented by antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications. Individual counseling will also play a key role in treatment, as you’ll learn skills to help you better understand social cues, learn what might trigger psychotic episodes (and reduce their severity), and how to handle the disorganized thoughts, strong emotions, and hallucinations that come with schizophrenia. We also offer group therapy sessions where you can make meaningful, judgment-free connections and contribute to each other’s support networks.
Our appointments are conducted online, through a safe and HIPAA-compliant video platform that gives you one-on-one attention from the comfort of your home. With appointments available six days a week and same-day scheduling options, it’s more convenient than ever to access care at KAV Mental Health & Psychiatry. We offer a highly adaptive way to get the treatment you need and keep you focused on living a happy, healthy life in reality.