Two groups of symptoms found with schizophrenia spectrum and related psychotic disorders are “positive” and “negative” symptoms. Positive symptoms generally “add” and include things such as delusions, hallucinations, and repetitive movements. Negative symptoms generally “detract” and may include difficulty showing emotions, withdraw from social relationships, or apathy.
While many disorders result in the development of “positive” symptoms, not all of these conditions represent schizophrenia. When treating schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, place emphasis not only on treating the positive symptoms but the negative and residual symptoms as well.
Medication-induced movement disorders, one example of which is tremors, can stem from both recreational and therapeutic drugs, with dopamine receptor blocking drugs, such as antipsychotic and antiemetics, being common causes. These types of disorders can range from subtle to lethal.
Psychotic disorders change one’s sense of reality and cause abnormal thinking and perception. Patients presenting with psychotic disorders may suffer from delusions or hallucinations or may display negative symptoms such as lack of emotion or withdraw from social situations or relationships. Symptoms of medication-induced movement disorders can be mild or lethal and can include, for example, tremors, dystonic reactions, or serotonin syndrome.
For this Assignment, you will complete a focused SOAP note (template in attachment) for a patient in a case study (case study attached) who has either a schizophrenia spectrum, other psychotic, or medication-induced movement disorder.
