Treatment of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and First-Episode Psychosis

Abstract

Currently there is no cure for schizophrenia and no sure way to prevent it. However, people who possess risk factors for schizophrenia can minimize their symptoms or prevent them from getting worse by taking preventative measures. And if symptoms do appear, early treatment may lessen the severity of the symptoms and improve the trajectory of the disorder. This chapter covers the prescribing of psychotropic medications for treating children and adolescents with schizophrenia and discusses promising and effective treatments, including multisystemic therapy-psychiatric, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and coordinated specialty care for first-episode psychosis. Chapter 16 returns to the case studies presented in Chapter 15 and describes the real-life outcomes along with questions for class discussion.