Issue 15

Symptom Management And Medication Group

The group runs over a total of sixteen sessions and is broken down into the following areas:

• INTRODUCTION
• MAKING SENSE OF EXPERIENCES AND SYMPTOMS
• THE ROLE OF MEDICATION IN MANAGING PSYCHOSIS. CONCORDANCE, SELF MEDICATION AND NON-COMPLIANCE
• STRESS MANAGEMENT: THE ROLE OF STRESS AND ANXIETY IN PSYCHOSIS.
• EARLY WARNING SIGNS, RELAPSE SIGNATURES AND RELAPSE PREVENTION.
• COPING STRATEGIES FOR DELUSIONAL BELIEFS, VOICES AND NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS.
• COGNITIVE THERAPY FOR BELIEFS ABOUT VOICES, DELUSIONAL BELIEFS AND IDEAS OF REFERENCE IN A GROUP SETTING.

No individual is asked to disclose any "uncomfortable" personal information, although any contribution from group members is gratefully received. The group takes what is termed a "psycho educational" format, which essentially means group members (including staff facilitators) are learning about how individual experiences can be managed and coped with.

The group will be starting in the New Year, and will be facilitated by Heidi Sinclair, Lisa Bird, and Geoff Barry. Over the next few weeks, patients, their primary nurses, and their clinical teams will be approached by the facilitators in order to see who may be interested in joining this group.

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