San Diego Psychotic Disorder Treatment

Psychotic disorders can be the most isolating and frightening mental illnesses, both for those with them and for their loved ones. These disorders can cause a variety of symptoms and behaviors, including disordered thinking, mood swings, withdrawing from social situations, delusions and hallucinations. These symptoms can have devastating consequences, including decreased feelings of happiness, inability to communicate effectively with others, cognitive impairment, alienation from others and feelings of intense isolation. This can be a highly distressing, painful experience, both for the individuals experiencing them, and for their loved ones.

For some, psychotic disorders are chronic conditions that require continuing psychiatric treatment; for others, psychotic episodes are only temporary. Regardless,  specific treatment is vital to helping those with psychotic disorders find wholeness and healing. That’s why Solara’s Mental Health and Psychiatric Center has specialized in treating psychotic disorders in San Diego.

Psychosis is related to multiple types of mental health disorders. Some of the most common psychotic disorders include schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.  In most cases, these disorders include symptoms of hallucinations, psychosis, and mood disorders.

Schizophrenia is one of the most common types of psychotic disorders.  It can be a severe, upsetting mental illness for both those who struggle with it along with their friends and family.  This psychotic disorder causes a false sense of reality where the affected experience hallucinations.  These hallucinations include seeing or hearing things that do not exist.  This in turn causes people with schizophrenia to have difficulty processing thoughts, feeling, and sensory stimulations.

Signs and symptoms include:

• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Confused thoughts and disorganized speech
• Trouble concentrating
• Movement disorders

Schizoaffective Disorder is also one of the most common psychotic disorders.  When a person has schizoaffective disorder they experience psychosis as well as a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder.  It is often difficult to differentiate the psychotic disorders but a simple approach to telling the difference would be to think of schizoaffective disorder as having both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.  They will experience depressed or manic episodes that come with mood disorder symptoms.

Some signs to look out for include:

• Delusions
• Depression symptoms 
• Hallucinations
• Lack of personal care
• mania or sudden, out-of-character jumps in energy
• Problems with speech/communication
• Trouble at work, school or social settings

Solara Mental Health provides comprehensive, specific care for individuals with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Our calm, comfortable facilities are an oasis from the world and its stressors.  Our mental health treatment center is a place for clients to rest and heal in peace. Our calming psychiatric facilities are aided by our compassionate care team, who are experts in the most effective treatment methods for psychotic disorders.

Our staff will help each client create a personalized treatment plan, utilizing a unique combination of therapeutic modalities, including individual psychotherapy, medication, group therapy, holistic therapies and family therapy.  These will help clients develop new skills to manage their disorder and restore full, healthy functioning.

Antipsychotic medications can be a highly successful component of psychotic disorder treatment. At Solara, all clients undergo a thorough evaluation, including a complete medical history, which our expert clinicians will use to prescribe a specific medication regimen designed to address the client’s specific symptoms.

As needed, additional medications may be prescribed, such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers, to address other symptoms. In our residential setting, our clinicians will carefully monitor the client, evaluating the effectiveness of each medication and adjusting prescriptions as needed.

Some of the common atypical antipsychotics include:

• Risperidone
• Olanzapine
• Quetiapine
• Ziprasidone
• Aripiprazole
• Paliperidone
• Lurasidone

Individual psychotherapy has been shown to be incredibly effective in treating psychotic disorders. As such, individual psychotherapy is a crucial part of treatment at Solara. In addition to the traditional individual psychotherapy format, our expert clinicians will utilize innovative modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps clients develop concrete, specific tools for recognizing and managing their symptoms and coping with stressors.

Patients will also learn techniques for determining what is real and what is not. This therapy lays the foundation for a restored sense of wholeness, self-confidence and peace.

Psychotic disorders present unique and difficult challenges for families. Research has shown that family involvement in treatment, regardless of interpersonal conflict, improves both the client’s compliance and outcomes. As such, Solara encourages families to participate in family therapy with their loved one. In this safe space, clients and their loved ones can honestly express feelings and resolve conflict, as well as learn techniques to support each other both during and after inpatient treatment.

Group therapy provides a supportive, calm environment where clients can practice social skills with understanding, nonjudgmental peers. Here, clients can come together as they recover, learning from one another and helping end feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Holistic therapies can help clients engage with their bodies and emotions in new, productive ways. The exact combination of therapies used varies from client to client, and can include acupuncture, yoga, massages, and physical exercise. These therapies can help clients alleviate stress and refocus as they progress on the path towards recovery.

While our clients make considerable and rapid improvements, psychotic disorders are often a long-term condition. Through years of experience, our mental health treatment center has learned how to provides the entire spectrum of care for our clients.  From inpatient to outpatient, from transitional living to a long-term aftercare plan, our program has been designed to free our clients from the clutches of psychotic disorders.

Contact us now to start the healing process.