Catherine is in her mid-forties is divorced, where she has two kids who stay with their father. Both she and her ex-husband are not in good terms, where she lives on her own in a faraway city with a caregiver. She has interests in gardening, reading, and writing and also occasionally attends the church for mass service. Catherine has a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and she spent a huge amount of her time in the By Faith Hospital over years for the prolonged periods of poor mental health. Her condition led her to give up her work a number of years ago.
She has been receiving daily support for the last two years, which includes psychosocial and emotional support. This has helped her to manage her mental health and general wellbeing. She is supported by doing activities such as weekly shopping. Crowded places also give her paranoia, where the paranoia makes her think that people are talking about her. Her conditioned seemed to get better by time, but by now it clearly is worsening. She could be interested in going outside, but all of a sudden start getting distressed and highly anxious, about stepping out. The fact that she cannot frequently meet her children as she used to, also highly bothers her and has put her in a state of depression. She constantly is feeling guilty of her actions, and losing her self-esteem. She has occasionally failed to take her medication, and sometimes she has been forced to do by her caregivers. She has also resolved not to go to the hospital ever again.
Case Plan
Catherine has a condition that needs more psychological support than she is receiving. First, she needs to be reassessed by the psychologist, to determine the severity of her condition. The psychologist first needs to analyze the current medication, where an evaluation of their efficiency will determine if they are helpful to the patient or not. Catherine also requires psychological support, where it is apparent that she is suffering from loneliness, where she can no longer see her kids and family (Dorofeikova, Neznanov, & Petrova, 2018). The psychologist and her close friends will first need to be conversant and understand what she is experiencing. It also should be understood that anything she may say should not be taken personally, where it should be kept in mind that how they are behaving and talking is not their norm.
There will also be a need to talk about neutral things, instead of just concentrating on mistaken beliefs. Listening and sympathizing is another way of ensuring that Catharine is at peace with people around her. If possible, there will be a need to try and minimize the stress and simulations around the home during these times. The caregiver, psychologists, and any other person making contact with her will need to show concern and care as a way of avoiding any potential confrontations, without criticizing or blaming. A huge risk factor that should be taken into consideration is the fact that Catherine is likely to fall into depression and suicidal thoughts (Dorofeikova, Neznanov, & Petrova, 2018). She hence needs continuous psychosocial and emotional support through this period, to make her feel loved and appreciated by the people around her. Once she starts improving, there will be a need for her close family members, more so children to visit her, a factor that is likely to improve her condition and make her feel better.
