Psychotic Disorder Case    Study: HarryPsychotic Disorder Case Study: Harry Program Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] HARRY: Hey. I'm Harry. I guess I need to talk to you about the voices. I'm schizophrenic. And I tried Seroquel. I tried Zyprexa. I've taken Geodon, and Risperdal, the whole shoot and shebang. They work, or they work pretty well for a while. I'm having trouble controlling the voices again. The voices are getting stronger. I can hear them now. Dr. Davis says he's going to try to have to dig deeper into his bag of tricks to find something that will work. I don't know he'd want to play a trick on me. I'm not going down that rabbit hole. What? So I'll take these stronger drugs that used to be on the—stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop that. The drugs from that bag are golden. These are dark and cloudy. I'm ready for it to stop. Sorry. [MUMBLING] How can I live alone if the voices keep getting stronger? How can counseling help me other than to help me keep a straight thought for five minutes and figure out about this new—I mean, old pill in the rabbit hole?

There are two major types of antipsychotic  medication. Typical antipsychotics are older drugs, such as  chlorpromazine and haloperidol. Typical antipsychotics tend to be highly  effective, yet they often have severe side effects. Older clients are  more likely to have been prescribed typical antipsychotics before newer  atypical antipsychotics became available. However, as long as the client  is tolerating the medication, generally the treatment will continue.

Atypical  antipsychotics, or newer drugs, tend to be tolerated more readily, and  the side effects are less severe (Perry, Alexander, Liskow, &  DeVane, 2007). Since typical antipsychotics often have severe side  effects, they are used as a last resort when the atypical antipsychotics  are not effective. Nevertheless, both antipsychotic medications manage  the positive symptoms of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, including hallucinations and delusions.

For  this Discussion, review the media programs “Psychotic Disorder Case  Study: Harry” and“Psychotic Disorder Case Study: Ralph”and consider the  case study’s current antipsychotic drug treatments. Next, you will be  placed into one of two groups (i.e., Group A: “Harry” case study or  Group B: “Ralph” case study). You then will post to your specific group  about your assigned case study. You will then respond to a colleague  from the opposite group about their case study.

By Day 3

Post an alternative  antipsychotic drug treatment for your assigned case and explain why you  think it is more appropriate. Explain the potential negative side  effects and identify symptoms that may not be relieved by the treatment.  Then, explain one potential ethical concern related to this client’s  treatment and your role as a mental health professional once the client  has been stabilized on his medication.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources only