Discussion+Questions

There are very large profits to be made by pharmaceutical companies in the sale of drugs used in the pharmacotherapy treatment of people suffering from schizophrenia, which is currently thought of as a life long disease. That means that the peolpe who suffer with schizophrenia will be steadily using drugs for the treatment of their symptoms for the rest of their lives. People suffering with schizophrenia are often times on a cocktail of multiple daily medications which from time to time need to be adjusted (which normally means the addition of a new medication). Could these large pharmaceutical companies be trying to down play the effectiveness of orthomolecular treatment (an alternative to pharmacotherapy) to keep their high profitability margins?
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Some of the pharmacotherapy that is available for treating schizophrenia has some unpleasant side effects; some medications even lead to symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Due to these unpleasant side effects, many individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia may choose not to take their medication or misuse them. As future counsellors, what are your thoughts or strategies in regards to trying to have successful pharmacotherapy for clients diagnosed with schizophrenia?