Antipsychotic Therapy

Antipsychotic Therapy

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 100,000 people experience psychosis in the United States each year (NAMI, 2016). In practice, clients may present with delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, disorganized or abnormal motor behavior, as well as other negative symptoms that can be disabling for these individuals. Not only are these symptoms one of the most challenging symptom clusters you will encounter, many are associated with other disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and disorders on the schizophrenia spectrum. As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, you must understand the underlying neurobiology of these symptoms to select appropriate therapies and improve outcomes for clients.

This week, as you examine antipsychotic therapies, you explore the assessment and treatment of clients with psychosis and schizophrenia. You also consider ethical and legal implications of these therapies.

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Assignment: Assessing and Treating Clients With Psychosis and Schizophrenia

Psychosis and schizophrenia greatly impact the brain’s normal processes, which interferes with the ability to think clearly. When symptoms of these disorders are uncontrolled, clients may struggle to function in daily life. However, clients often thrive when properly diagnosed and treated under the close supervision of a psychiatric mental health practitioner. For this Assignment, as you examine the client case study in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat clients presenting with psychosis and schizophrenia.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

·         Assess client factors and history to develop personalized plans of antipsychotic therapy for clients

·         Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in clients requiring antipsychotic therapy

·         Evaluate efficacy of treatment plans

·         Analyze ethical and legal implications related to prescribing antipsychotic therapy to clients across the lifespan

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

 

Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through the Walden Library using this link. This link will take you to a log-in page for the Walden Library. Once you log into the library, the Stahl website will appear.

 

Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

 

To access the following chapters, click on the Essential Psychopharmacology, 4th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate chapter. Be sure to read all sections on the left navigation bar for each chapter.

·         Chapter 4, “Psychosis and Schizophrenia”

·         Chapter 5, “Antipsychotic Agents”

Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

 

To access information on the following medications, click on The Prescriber’s Guide, 5th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate medication.

 

Review the following medications:

• amisulpride
• aripiprazole
• asenapine
• chlorpromazine
• clozapine