Schizophrenia Spectrum Case

Schizophrenia Spectrum Case
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Schizophrenia Spectrum Case
1. Summarize the clinical case, including the significant subjective and objective data.The case is about Mr. T, and he is a 21-year-old male patient who has been exhibiting significant behavioral changes that prompted his mother to seek medical consultation. Mr. T believes that there are aliens who want to steal his soul. According to Mr. T, the aliens communicate with him by sending thoughts into his mind and/or leaving messages outside his home by arranging sticks. Mr. T reports that the aliens want him to harm himself by throwing himself in front of a car to "change the systems that belong under us," but he denies any plan actually to harm himself. During the assessment interview, his guarded and anxious behavior was evident. He seems to be scanning the room for the aliens because he believes that they might have followed him even in the hospital. His expression of thoughts and speech were also halted midway many times during the interview.
According to the patient's mother, this has heavily affected other parts of his life because he had become isolated from other people and had even stopped attending community college for the past year. Mr. T's frequency of talking to himself has also increased. He would rather spend time alone reading science fiction materials and inventing devices that will protect him from the said aliens. The patient's mother also identifies positive genetic/family history of psychiatric condition because the father of Mr. T exhibited similar symptoms and had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
2. Generate a primary and two differential diagnoses. Use the DSM5 to support the assessment. Include the DSM5 and ICD 10 codes.
Primary Diagnosis
F20.9 Schizophrenia
Mr. T exhibits signs and symptoms of schizophrenia that align with the condition's diagnostic criteria. The persecutory delusions with his belief that the aliens are going after him to harm him. This is a common theme for individuals experiencing delusions. The kind of delusions that Mr. T believes are also classified as bizarre because of the "aliens" as it is not from everyday or ordinary life experiences. Another significant symptom that further supports the diagnosis of schizophrenia is the presence of hallucinations. Hallucinations are common in patients experiencing schizophrenia, and this can be seen with Mr. T because he perceives involuntary thoughts that are not triggered by external stimuli (McCutcheon, Marques, & Howes, 2020).
In addition to these, the disturbances had already affected other aspects of his life and his level of functioning. He had stopped going to community college because of his thoughts and beliefs involving aliens. His interpersonal relationships were also affected, and he had become more isolated from his peers. Based on the reports of his mother, the behavioral disturbance had already been going on for over a year with increasing severity, especially these past few weeks. Mr. T also has not experienced manic or depressive episodes during the active phase of his symptoms nor during the residual phase of the condition. There are also no...