Finding meaning in medication.

The author reflects on a decade of antipsychotic treatment, providing an intimate glimpse into living with schizophrenia. Their narrative unravels the balance of vulnerability and strength, coercion, and dialogue inherent in the acceptance of medication. Their journey from defiance to adherence showcases the profound complexities patients face and the ethical dilemmas confronting caregivers. Interactions with loved ones and mentors underscore the importance of a shared decision-making approach. The author emphasizes not just the significance of medication but the broader, holistic perspective of aligning treatment with one's life goals and values. Their story champions the power of lived experiences, aiming to inspire a more empathetic and collaborative approach to antipsychotic treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Patient-Clinician Discussion of Current Challenges in Schizophrenia Part 1: Addressing Daily Functioning and Cognitive Impairments Associated with Schizophrenia [Podcast].

Dr John M. Kane discusses cognitive impairments in schizophrenia with fellow expert Dr Philip D. Harvey and patient advocate and mental health clinician, Mr Carlos A. Larrauri, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The podcast aims to raise awareness of the unmet need to address cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) as well as the challenges/opportunities faced by patients and clinicians regarding assessments and treatments. The authors emphasize the importance of a treatment focus on daily functioning, in parallel with cognitive symptoms, to mitigate impairments and improve overall outcomes. Mr Larrauri presents the patient perspective and shares his experiences of how psychosocial support and cognitive training can benefit recovery and help patients achieve their goals.

Youth Mental Health Screening and Linkage to Care.

One Mind, in partnership with Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, convened several virtual meetings of mental health researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders in 2020 to identify first steps toward creating an initiative for early screening and linkage to care for youths (individuals in early adolescence through early adulthood, ages 10-24 years) with mental health difficulties, including serious mental illness, in the United States. This article synthesizes and builds on discussions from those meetings by outlining and recommending potential steps and considerations for the development and integration of a novel measurement-based screening process in youth-facing school and medical settings to increase early identification of mental health needs and linkage to evidence-based care. Meeting attendees agreed on an initiative incorporating a staged assessment process that includes a first-stage brief screener for several domains of psychopathology. Individuals who meet threshold criteria on the first-stage screener would then complete an interview, a second-stage in-depth screening, or both. Screening must be followed by recommendations and linkage to an appropriate level of evidence-based care based on acuity of symptoms endorsed during the staged assessment. Meeting attendees proposed steps and discussed additional considerations for creating the first nationwide initiative for screening and linkage to care, an initiative that could transform access of youths to mental health screening and care.

Self-assessment in schizophrenia: Accuracy of evaluation of cognition and everyday functioning.

OBJECTIVE: Self-assessment deficits, often referred to as impaired insight or unawareness of illness, are well established in people with schizophrenia. There are multiple levels of awareness, including awareness of symptoms, functional deficits, cognitive impairments, and the ability to monitor cognitive and functional performance in an ongoing manner. The present study aimed to evaluate the comparative predictive value of each aspect of awareness on the levels of everyday functioning in people with schizophrenia. METHOD: We examined multiple aspects of self-assessment of functioning in 214 people with schizophrenia. We also collected information on everyday functioning rated by high contact clinicians and examined the importance of self-assessment for the prediction of real-world functional outcomes. The relative impact of performance-based measures of cognition, functional capacity, and metacognitive performance on everyday functioning was also examined. RESULTS: Misestimation of ability emerged as the strongest predictor of real-world functioning and exceeded the influences of cognitive performance, functional capacity performance, and performance-based assessment of metacognitive monitoring. The relative contribution of the factors other than self-assessment varied according to which domain of everyday functioning was being examined, but, in all cases, accounted for less predictive variance. CONCLUSION: These results underscore the functional impact of misestimating one's current functioning and relative level of ability. These findings are consistent with the use of insight-focused treatments and compensatory strategies designed to increase self-awareness in multiple functional domains.