Schizoaffective Disorder Treatment
Dr. Bryon McQuirt
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Bryon McQuirt
April 24, 2024
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Many types of mental health disorders can compound a person’s ability to live their life. One of the more challenging ones is schizoaffective disorder. People with this diagnosis often don’t know where to turn to get truly effective help. Peachtree Wellness Solutions provides a schizoaffective disorder treatment program that helps people understand the specifics of their condition and how to improve their symptoms. We provide compassionate, focused care in both outpatient and residential settings in order to meet the specific needs of each person.
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Peachtree Wellness is an industry leader in mental health treatment. Our team of top medical experts specialize in dual diagnosis treatment and are committed to ensuring that each patient is treated as an individual. Call us today, we’re available 24/7.
How Does Schizoaffective Disorder Treatment Work?
Schizoaffective disorder treatment programs work by employing a variety of methods to help people. An initial assessment of each individual includes taking their medical history and learning about their history of mental illness. The clinician will discuss how schizoaffective disorder has impacted the individual and set treatment goals.
Treatment will include different types of therapy, including one-on-one therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps people with schizoaffective disorder learn ways to change negative thought patterns into positive ones. It also can help people who do not experience positive benefits from using medications.
Group therapy can help people feel more at ease socializing and provide much-needed peer support. As well, family therapy can help educate family members about their loved one’s disease and how to support them. Other types of therapy may be used, depending on the person’s individual needs and how they respond to them. This can include holistic therapy, which helps the individual engage in activities that allow them to express themselves and also promote relaxation.
While therapy and medication cannot cure a person, they can help them learn to modulate their emotions and actions. For some, it can even help them stop experiencing psychosis. Learning things like life skills and how to engage in positive social interactions make people’s lives easier. It can also help them get and retain employment and have healthier personal relationships.
What is Schizoaffective Disorder?
Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health disorder that affects approximately 0.3% of the population. It is chronic and does not have a cure; however, it can be managed with proper treatment. This includes a combination of medication and types of therapy. Because this mental illness is rare, many people go without a proper diagnosis for a long period of time or never receive one. While the illness has similarities to schizophrenia, it is a separate condition. Still, people with schizoaffective disorder are often diagnosed as having schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Both men and women experience schizoaffective disorder at about the same rate. However, men prove more likely to develop the condition at an earlier age. Someone with this disease cannot expect to improve their symptoms and learn to manage their lives without professional treatment. For this reason, getting help at a schizoaffective disorder treatment program provides a person with a real ability to improve their quality of life.
Sign and Symptoms of Schizoaffective Disorder
When someone needs schizoaffective disorder treatment, they will exhibit a range of signs and symptoms. Common ones include:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Disorganized thinking
- Difficulty functioning
- Mania, including episodes of euphoria, racing thoughts, and engaging in risky behavior
- Depression
- Poor hygiene
Risk Factors for Schizoaffective Disorder
There isn’t an exact cause that can be pointed to that explains why someone develops schizoaffective disorder. Several individual reasons may be to blame or a combination of them. Possible causes of a person developing schizoaffective disorder include:
Genetics: Many mental illnesses run in families due to a genetic predisposition to developing them. While one person in the family may have schizoaffective disorder, it does not guarantee others will. However, it does increase the odds that another family member will have it.
Stressful Life Events: Events including the death of a loved one, a divorce, a job loss, a serious illness, and other stressful times in life.
Brain Chemistry: How a person’s brain is structured and its chemistry functions can affect the development of many mental health disorders.
Using Certain Drugs: The use of certain psychoactive drugs like LSD can contribute to symptoms of psychosis and the development of conditions like schizoaffective disorder.
Can Schizoaffective Disorder Be Treated Without Medication?
Virtually everyone with schizoaffective disorder will need medication in order to improve their symptoms and quality of life. Common prescription medications used include antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants. Treatment providers will provide an initial assessment in order to know which types of medication to recommend. From there, they will monitor the person to see how the meds affect them and if any side effects occur. It’s not uncommon to need to try different medications or a combination of them before finding the right types to use for each individual.
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Find Schizoaffective Treatment in Atlanta Today
When someone has schizoaffective disorder, it can compromise their quality of life. Without treatment, a person doesn’t have the ability to live their life more fully. For this reason, Peachtree Wellness Solutions developed a schizoaffective disorder treatment program that helps people understand and improve their mental health. We offer both outpatient and residential care options that teach people with schizoaffective disorder to learn how to understand and minimize some of their symptoms.
Our admissions staff is happy to answer any question you have about getting quality schizoaffective treatment today. Visit our admissions page now for more information.
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Did you know most major health insurance plans with out-of-network benefits can cover the costs associated with our mental health program? Find out your coverage and treatment options below.
