Substance Abuse & Psychiatric Rehabilitation

  Importance of medication in the treatment of psychiatric disorders After a client is diagnosed for a psychiatric illness and psychotropic medication given by a psychiatrist, it is very important to take the medication as prescribed. Family members must make sure that the medication are taken by the client regularly and swallowed properly and goes into the stomach. They must observe the throat movement when the client swallows the oral medication to make sure it goes in. Sometimes the client may not take the medication or may hide the medication from taking. They can even hide the medication under the tongue, in between the teeth, won’t swallow the medication and can vomit out the medication without the family members knowing. The reasons for not taking the medication are no insight, suicidal thoughts and due to unpleasant side effects of the medication. Family members must always explain during the daily activities that the client has a psychiatric problem and the medication ca...

Drug induced psychosis and dual diagnosis clients should be assessed for their psychotic signs and symptoms. They must be mentally stabilised with medication before psycho social  interventions can be conducted to treat and rehabilitate them. Clients should be counselled about the importance of medication and their side effects so that they will understand the nature of the treatment better. Besides, the diagnosis and treatment aspect of the condition must be explained to them. Family members must be aware of this too through psycho education or during family association sessions so that they can also comprehend the nature of the disease as well as the behaviour of their loved ones. Once the clients are mentally stable with medication and able to use all the coping skills to cope with their daily life routines, then they can function as normal as possible. Family support is very crucial in the recovery process of the clients. Job placement can be done later so that the clients can ...