Understanding Psychosis for Loved Ones and Caregivers

Psychosis is a state of impaired reality which may include hallucinations and delusions. Experiencing psychosis can impair your functioning and have a negative effect on various aspects of your daily life, such as work, school, and the ability to maintain relationships. Being in a state of psychosis can be extremely frightening and confusing. Many times, it can be difficult for loved ones, caregivers, and even medical professionals to understand what it's like to experience psychosis.

Host Rachel Star Withers, a diagnosed schizophrenic, and co-host Gabe Howard discuss what psychosis is like and how you can help someone who is experiencing psychosis in this episode of Inside Schizophrenia.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Aaron Brinen joins as the guest. Dr. Brinen is the co-developer of recovery-oriented cognitive therapy (CT-R), and has been active in adapting CT-R for different settings and training therapists from around the world. He also has a new book out, “Living Well with Psychosis.”

Our guest, Dr. Aaron P. Brinen, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice, where he employs evidence-based treatments to help people recover from serious mental health conditions. He is also Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Brinen is a co-developer of recovery-oriented cognitive therapy (CT-R), and has been active in adapting CT-R for different settings and training therapists from around the world.

Our host, Rachel Star Withers, creates videos documenting her schizophrenia, ways to manage and let others like her know they are not alone and can still live an amazing life. She has written Lil Broken Star: Understanding Schizophrenia for Kids and a tool for schizophrenics, To See in the Dark: Hallucination and Delusion Journal. Fun Fact: She has wrestled alligators.

To learn more about Rachel, please visit her website, RachelStarLive.com.

Our cohost, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author.

To learn more about Gabe, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

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