The Place of Sexual Murder in the Classification of Crime
Louis B. Schlesinger in Sexual Murder, 2021
This case presents a problem not only in diagnosis but in clinical management as well. Individuals who have encapsulated delusions—particularly delusional jealousy as well as a persecutory type of delusion—are extremely difficult to treat. The delusions are so encapsulated that they are often intractable, even with medication (which, however, can possibly reduce the intensity of the delusion). Psychotherapy is of minimal value because a delusion does not stem from facts of reality; therefore, it cannot be dissipated by facts of reality. Moreover, these types of delusions are often missed diagnostically in both their incipient and residual stages. And such delusions are extremely dangerous—especially a delusion of persecution—because individuals act out in self-protective ways which can easily result in violence.
Heterocyclic Drugs from Plants
Rohit Dutt, Anil K. Sharma, Raj K. Keservani, Vandana Garg in Promising Drug Molecules of Natural Origin, 2020
Early or first-episode psychosis (FEP) refers beginning to lose contact with reality. Acting quickly to connect the patient with the right treatment during FEP can be life-changing and radically alter the future. FEP does not suddenly occur to someone, rather gradual, non-specific changes in the thoughts and perceptions are seen and the patient doesn’t understand what exactly is happening. The early signs might be similar to typical teen or young adult behavior owing to the “phases” of this age. Even though such signs do not cause panic, however, they can assess by a doctor. Two main indications of psychosis are delusions and hallucinations (Psychotic Disorders, 2018). Delusions are false beliefs and hallucinations are false perceptions, such as hearing, seeing, or feeling something fantasy. People with bipolar disorder may also have psychotic symptoms. Psychosis may also be caused by consumption of alcohol and some drugs, brain tumors, brain infections, and stroke.
Fixed-False Beliefs
Ragy R. Girgis, Gary Brucato, Jeffrey A. Lieberman in Understanding and Caring for People with Schizophrenia, 2020
Delusions are among the most common symptoms in schizophrenia and are one of the five main symptoms of schizophrenia, along with hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, and negative symptoms (to meet criteria for schizophrenia, patients must meet at least two of these criteria [one must be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech] for one month with some signs of the disorder for at least six months, unless they receive treatment). There are many different types of delusions. One type of delusion is the persecutory delusion. In this type of delusion, one believes that they are being worked against, targeted, or unfairly treated in some way. A person having persecutory delusions is often described as being “paranoid.” This is perhaps the most common type of delusion experienced by individuals with schizophrenia, though it was not experienced by Joy. An example of a persecutory delusion would be thinking that one is being monitored by cameras that no one can see or that a government agency is planning to assassinate someone when that is not true.
Delusionality of beliefs among 50 adult females with severe and extreme anorexia nervosa upon admission to an acute medical stabilization facility
Published in Eating Disorders, 2023
P. Evelyna Kambanis, Angeline R. Bottera, Christopher J. Mancuso, Kamila Cass, Kristen Lohse, Jodie Benabe, Judy Oakes, Ashlie Watters, Craig Johnson, Philip Mehler, Kyle P. De Young
Delusional beliefs are “fixed beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 87). In contrast, an irrational thought is not based on reason, logic, or understanding, but is amenable to change. The diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) refer to an “intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat” (p. 338) that Steinglass and colleagues (2007) described as implying that reality-testing remains intact among individuals with AN (i.e., “intense” rather than “delusional”). However, individuals with AN may experience beliefs about their eating and body shape/weight that reach delusional intensity (e.g., Hartmann et al., 2013; Konstantakopoulos et al., 2012; Steinglass et al., 2007). AN is difficult to treat (e.g., Bulik et al., 2007), with relapse rates approaching 50% (Fichter & Quadflieg, 2016), and delusional beliefs in AN have been largely understudied. Thus, information about potentially delusional beliefs in AN that might augment treatments is important to obtain.
A systematic review of antipsychotic agents for primary delusional infestation
Published in Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2022
Meghan L. McPhie, Mark G. Kirchhof
The following data was extracted as available: reference (author(s)/publication year); study design; setting (inpatient, outpatient, other); demographics (age, sex); sample size, study population (diagnostic criteria, comorbidities); type of antipsychotic used (typical or atypical/specific drug name), dosage used, comparator; duration of intervention or follow-up period; and main outcome. For the purpose of this review, a favorable therapeutic outcome was defined as indication of ‘improvement,’ or ‘improvement in delusions,’ or ‘decrease in symptoms/asymptomatic,’ or ‘symptom control,’ or ‘symptom resolution,’ or ‘complete/partial remission,’ or any wording to the same effect, as most articles neglected to report explicit criteria for outcomes. For studies with multiple cases, only those cases that met inclusion criteria were reported. Additionally, when several antipsychotic agents were used in a single case, those agents that included information on dosing and outcome were reported and included in the data for that particular agent. The data was synthesized using a narrative descriptive approach with quantitative data provided as available.
Promoting insight into delusions: Issues and challenges in therapy
Published in International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2020
Though psychotherapies for delusions have proven efficacy, a few factors such as the client’s poor insight into the illness, amotivation to engage in the therapeutic process and cognitive deficits may create challenges for the therapists in conducting these therapies (Garety et al. 2000; Rüsch and Corrigan 2002; Barber et al. 2012). Moreover, delusions can emanate from an individual’s deeply distressing issues in life and, hence, dealing with delusions can be an incredibly complex matter sometimes (Buck et al. 2013). No wonder therapists may, at times, find clients with delusions difficult to engage in therapy (Tarrier 2006, p 177). In the present practice-oriented paper, some of the challenges in conducting therapy for clients with delusions have been discussed. Further, a few steps that can be taken to deal with these issues have been suggested. It will be helpful for the aspiring therapists as they can understand these issues and the practical ways to handle them while working with clients with delusions.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Confabulation
- Hallucination
- Mania
- Perception
- Psychosis
- Schizophrenia
- Bipolar Disorder
- Paraphrenia
- Psychotic Depression
- Depression