Mental Health Case Management by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Human Services, Social Work
ISBN: 9781452289236
Google: _YIgAQAAQBAJ
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2012-08-15T04:37:42+00:00

Enhancing Medication Use

One of the biggest problems regarding the use of medications to treat the symptoms of serious mental illness is that clients often have difficulty taking these medications consistently. There are a number of reasons for this. As discussed above, many of these medications have significant side effects, and clients often would rather experience the symptoms of severe mental illness than the side effects of the medications used to treat those symptoms. In addition to side effects, clients are often prescribed an array of medications that must be taken several times a day. Just as people without psychiatric disabilities have difficulty remembering to take their antibiotics when they are sick, individuals with severe mental illness often have difficulty remembering what medications to take and when, in part because of the marked impairments in thinking that can accompany these disorders. Further, it is natural for human beings to dislike taking medication, and individuals with severe mental illness are no exception to this rule. Some individuals have difficulty accepting that they have a mental disability, and others are merely dismayed by the thought that they may have to take medicine for the rest of their lives. The bottom line is that most people, whether they have a psychiatric disability or not, don't like taking medicine. However, we know it is vital that psychiatric medications be taken consistently, especially in psychosis, if they are to provide any relief from the symptoms people experience. As a case manager, you can do a number of things to help facilitate the consistency with which clients use their medication:

Help them use concrete medication supports. Pill boxes and medication timers can take a lot of the work out of remembering what to take when.

Help them connect medication with daily routines. Placing medication use within the context of daily routines is the way most people remember to take their medicine. For example, taking medicine with a morning cup of coffee is a good way to integrate medicine into existing daily activities.

Provide them with education about medications. People don't take what they think doesn't work, or they stop taking a drug when they don't see the purpose of it. Education about what different drugs do can help.

Empathize with the difficulty of taking medications. A great way to support medication use is to acknowledge the difficulty in being consistent, particularly in the face of side effects. Having support in the difficult task of taking medicine can help keep a person motivated.

Facilitate communication with the psychiatrist. Helping clients communicate with their doctors when they feel a medicine is not working or when it is causing side effects is important for getting the right medication regime in place and for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the problems associated with medication use.

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