Medication Non-Compliance in the Schizophrenic Patient

If you are caring for an individual who suffers with a mental health disorder, you may have experienced the great complication that persists when the treatment plan prescribed for managing the mental health condition is not well maintained.

Caring for a loved one with a mental health disorder, often, requires love and patients. It will also require diligence and taking control of care, when necessary. For patients who suffer from schizophrenia, there is a significant reliance upon family members to ensure their treatment plan is adhered to. This is based upon the positive effects of treatment that often leave the schizophrenia patient believing treatment is no longer needed, they choose to cease using medications and therapy and, ultimately, will experience a relapse.

Prescription medications are probably the most notable area of non-compliance in the schizophrenia patient. In addition to feeling, at some point, that they no longer require the treatment, the schizophrenia patient may suddenly decide they do not like the side effects of the treatment nor the stigma associated with their medication usage. These combined factors often attribute to non-compliance.

So, how do you know if a family member has been non-compliant in the medication management of schizophrenia? The first clue will commonly appear as a greater complication of the schizophrenia symptoms. Because most medications control and stabilize the schizophrenia symptoms, those who become non-compliant in their treatment plan will suddenly experience a change in their mental health state, often a worsening of schizophrenia symptoms.