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...

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.…