Schizoaffective Disorder Treatment

Schizoaffective disorder cannot be cured but can be effectively managed. A three-pronged approach is generally considered highly effective.

1. Psychoeducation helps those who suffer understand schizoaffective disorder, how it operates within the brain, treatment best practices, and family involvement.
2. Clinical therapy uses evidence-based treatments to reframe thoughts and offer practical skills to manage triggers and symptoms.
3. Medication is typically the foundational piece of the treatment approach to stabilize mood and mitigate psychotic symptoms.

When you receive schizoaffective disorder treatment in Denver at Mile High Recovery Center, you may benefit from some of the following therapies established as being very effective in treating this condition.

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)–People with psychotic disorders such as schizoaffective disorder can benefit significantly from CBT because the treatment targets the thought process. In those with schizoaffective disorder, thoughts are disorganized and can be hurtful. By learning how to self-monitor for maladaptive thinking, clients will begin to notice when their thinking is splitting off in an irrational direction and can thus avoid a psychotic episode.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)–Based on behavioral therapy modalities, ACT emphasizes the importance of acceptance over change. Using mindfulness in treating schizoaffective disorder has great benefits because it encourages experiencing emotions deeply without succumbing to those emotions or reacting to them outwardly. Since changing thoughts in someone with schizophrenic symptoms is very difficult, using an acceptance approach helps with self-esteem and commitment and allows sufferers to change behaviors even if the alteration of thinking patterns comes much later.
• Group and family therapy–The support of family and peers is very powerful in treating schizoaffective disorders. Family can learn to reduce stressors on the client by altering their communication style or behaviors. In group therapy, the presence of supportive peers helps mitigate feelings of shame and isolation that so often accompany this diagnosis.