Screening for Schizophrenia is useful to identify people who might be suffering from Schizophrenia. It is not uncommon for people without Schizophrenia symptoms to go through the screening since early detection and treatment, like any illness is always beneficial. Screening is also important to people with family history of Schizophrenia as this group of people has a higher chance to get this mental disorder. There are many methods to diagnose Schizophrenia as discussed below.
Questionnaire by the psychologist
Screenings are commonly done by visiting the psychotherapist. The psychotherapist will ask several questions and the patient will have to answer honestly. Some of the questions commonly asked are:
1. Are you able to see, feel and touch things or people which no one else can?
2. Do you hear voices talking to you?
3. Do you prefer to be alone?
4. Do you feel that people around you are always staring at you?
5. Do you feel that there is someone who is trying to poison or harm you?
6. Can you feel an external power trying to control you?
7. How long have you been experiencing such feelings?
8. Are there any major changes, incidents or accidents in your life recently?
Apart from questioning the patient, the psychotherapist might also perform a questionnaire with the family members, friends and loved ones. The psychotherapist will then record all the answers and perform an analysis to assess if the person is suffering from Schizophrenia.
Eliminating any False Diagnosis
The psychotherapist will eliminate any false judgment which might occur simply as a result of:
Social phobia - in which a person fears any situation of embarrassment in public, the person feels that people are constantly observing and judging him all the time.
Personality Disorder - in which a person feels that others are not trustworthy and hostile, the person feels profound suspicion for everyone, including his friends and family members.
Biopolar Disorder - is another mental disorder whereby the person experiences extreme changes in mood
Blood Tests:
As a screening step, it is important to perform a blood test analysis on the person undertaking screening to confirm that the symptoms he is experiencing are not due to the consumption of alcohol or addictive drugs.
Imaging:
Brain imaging is a suggested method for screening because the observed symptoms that are being associated with Schizophrenia might be because of brain abnormality like congenital birth defect, brain tumor, brain injury. It is vital to use brain imaging technology such as MRI or CT scan to rule out these possibilities.
The Müller-Lyer illusion:
Studies have found that " Müller-Lyer Illusion", a type of optical illusion introduced by Müler-Lyer in the year 1,889, can also be used as a tool for screening schizophrenia.
Scientists are looking forward to develop precise and advanced tools for the screening and diagnosis of Schizophrenia. Such tools have to be developed on the molecular and genetic level.
Currently, much work is being develop at the molecular and genetic level where information is being gathered constantly. You can also find a database comprising all the information on development of genetic studies relevant to Schizophrenia at http://www.szgene.org.
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