Essay on Schizophrenia: Professional Orientation and Ethics

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with severe impacts on patients and society. This condition causes significant mental disabilities. Following the case reported by a woman about a suspected case of schizophrenia, as a counsellor, I would implement valuable interventions to ensure that the patient does not cause any harm to other people or himself. Since there are no reported severe symptoms reported, starting medication would not be very necessary in this case. Most importantly I would ensure the privacy of the woman who reports this case since she can be in danger of harm if the patient discovers that she has revealed her information to someone else without consenting him. This paper outlines the necessary intervention as a counsellor that can be given to a patient with a suspected case of schizophrenia.

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The first and most viable intervention of this condition is asking the woman to persuade the suspected schizophrenic patient to seek medical intervention. This should follow a psychotherapy dialogue which should be used by the woman. Engaging the patient in a psychotic conversation gives room for a patient to express their feelings. Because the woman is the only person that that man is open to, she should utilize that opportunity to ensure that the correct therapeutic interventions are followed. Thus, I would advise her to ensure that she respects his beliefs and values. She should listen to him and accept his views.

After engaging in a dialogue and respecting the views of the patient, she should impose her beliefs on him. She should ask him to go for a mental check-up, but in a polite and unnoticeable way to ensure that she does not irritate him, or make him suggest that she is accusing him of having a mental disorder. The most appropriate way of asking him to visit the hospital is by giving a fake case of such a situation relating to the symptoms she sees in him. Generally, since they already have a healthy relationship to the point that that man reveals his secret to her; it would be easier to impose her values and beliefs on him and persuade him to seek medical intervention.

However, most of the people with a mental condition fail to accept that they are sick, and further persuasion may result in violent responses. Therefore, if the dialogue approach does not bear positive results, then using the authorities shall be useful in this matter. Reporting the issue to the legal authorities is most appropriate in this situation since it prevents the patient from causing harm to self, her, and the general society. By doing this, she will be violating the ethical principles of confidentiality, but failure to report the issue might result in severe harm. More so, if there are delays in the intervention of this condition, it might lead to disabilities, which might be challenging to control in the future. Therefore, she has to talk about the issue with as many sources as possible and seek authority and psychiatric intervention to ensure her safety, the safety of others, and the wellness of her friend.

To summarize, I would ask the woman to ensure that she engages the patient in dialogues mostly since this reduces the risk of occurrence of schizophrenia symptoms. Secondly, I would ask her to ensure that she respects his values and beliefs. This should be followed by attempts to persuade him to seek medical attention, though in a polite manner. If the patient is reluctant to seek therapeutic interventions, it is necessary that the woman should report the matter to the legal bodies so that they can encourage the patient to seek medical attention, and ensure she is safe, and the society is safe from harms that this man can cause.