What Are the Major Main Barriers to Treatment That Someone With Schizophrenia Might Encounter?

Abnormal Psych

There are several barriers to treatment that someone with schizophrenia might encounter. Those barriers can be loosely classified as personal, institutional, and social, although these three areas often intersect. Stigmas and a lack of understanding of the disease remain key barriers to treatment.

Schizophrenia is a misunderstood condition, which is one of the reasons why there may be social impediments to a person seeking treatment. Although knowledge has increased exponentially over the past few decades, the disease is still not completely understood. It is chronic, and potentially long lasting, which presents its own set of challenges to treatment (Durand & Barlow, 2013, p. 5). Treatments that have been used in the past, such as electronic stimulation, are now considered primitive and outmoded (Durand & Barlow, 2013, p. 12). There is less than a fifty percent chance that the schizophrenia is genetic, meaning that early detection is not always possible unless genetic screening of patients becomes more commonplace (Durand & Barlow, 2013, p. 36). There are also environmental factors that could trigger the onset of schizophrenia, when there is a preexisting genetic tendency (Durand & Barlow, 2013, p. 39). Due to the wide variation in symptom manifestation, including both the "positive" and "negative" symptoms, many patients might be misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. There may also be comorbid factors that lead the person to receive treatment for another disease but not schizophrenia. Many symptoms might be classified as being related to a disease that is not schizophrenia.

Moreover, the medications used to treat the disease are often harsh and come with severe side effects. These side effects are an important impediment to treatment. Some patients might feel flat lined, unable to enjoy life after taking antipsychotic medications that dull their emotions. A lack of effective medications that genuinely cure the disease is a major barrier to treatment. However, researchers are developing new drugs based on neuropsychological research. Dopamine is indicated in schizophrenia, but there is still no medical cure for the disease. Blocking dopamine receptors can minimize some symptoms but not all. Similarly, there is some evidence to suggest that serotonin is implicated in schizophrenia but there are few drugs that provide ideal alleviation from the condition or its myriad symptoms.

Social stigma remains one of the biggest barriers to treatment for all mental illness, including schizophrenia. Books and movies that treat the disease in the wrong light have fueled the social stigmas against schizophrenia. At the same time, there are also books and movies that present the disease in a more realistic light. These realistic movies can be used to dispel myths. When considering the barriers to treatment, ethnic and cultural issues must be understood. Some cultures might have different views of mental illness and the health care team should be prepared to working with persons from other cultures. It is important for health care workers to be sensitive to different paradigms of mental health.

A sense of personal shame may prevent a person from seeking help, which may exacerbate the problem. Shame is taught in the society, which is generally ignorant of what mental health entails. Some people might mask symptoms via self-medication, drugs, and alcohol. Not only do drugs and alcohol have the potential to worsen symptoms, using substances can make it harder to diagnose the illness effectively. Some drugs might lead to side effects that mimic psychoses, which is why some patients exhibit signs of psychosis without actually having schizophrenia. Therefore, proper diagnosis by the health care team is essential.

Schizophrenia is a disease that many people are frightened of, including persons who manifest symptoms. Yet a person with schizophrenia might be unaware that they have the disease. Some of the symptoms could be mistaken for other illnesses. Poverty and a fear of not being able to afford medical care are other barriers to care. Therefore, a more affordable health care system will encourage patients to seek treatment.

Overcoming barriers to treatment begins with education. The culture needs to change, so that seeking mental health care is not stigmatized. Schizophrenia needs to be better understood, requiring science writers and the mainstream media to cover the illness in sensitive ways. Barriers to treatment can also be overcome when researchers come up with new treatment interventions, such as antipsychotic drugs that do not yield uncomfortable or unwanted side effects.