What is Brief Psychotic Disorder - And What is the Treatment ?

Brief Psychotic Disorder is what it sounds like it is. It is a sudden and temporary time when an individual’s demonstrates psychotic symptoms.

This can also be referred to as grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior. This brief psychotic episode can last a few days and the individual can be in extreme emotional turmoil.

After the person comes out of the episode, they can return to their normal functioning and some people never have another episode ever again. Brief Psychotic Disorder is usually ignited due to stress. According to the (DSM-IV-TR) (APA,2000) criteria to be diagnosed with Brief Psychotic Disorder is the following:

 The presence of one of more of the following symptoms which are hallucinations, disorganized speech, or catatonic behavior or grossly disorganized behavior, an episode that continues for a minimum of a day but not longer than one month with being able to return to full functioning after the episode, having a diagnosis of mood disorder with psychotic features, Schizoaffective Disorder or Schizophrenia is ruled out.

·         Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) has been found to be helpful in helping the brief psychotic disorder sufferer manage some of their symptoms of this illness. 

          

·         CBT is a form of psychotherapy that is centered on helping the person understand and manage how their thoughts and behaviors affect each other.

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2000) Diagnostic 

 and statistical manual of mental disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) 4^th ed., Text revision. Arlington,VA: Author.

 Butcher, J. N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M. (2012). Abnormal psychology, 14^th ed. Boston, MA:

Pearson.

By Diane Gammon M.S. Clinical Mental Health Counselor

                                           Blog Website LivingWithHopeCounseling.com