What else can help my son stop hearing voices?
Author:
Dr. Allan Schwartz, Ph.D.
Reviewer:
Dr. Jesse Hanson, Ph.D.
Question
My son is 28 years old has had a mental illness for 12 years now. He just wants to stop hearing voices. He has been seeing the same psychiatrist for 10 years.
- Dr. Schwartz responds to questions about psychotherapy and mental health problems, from the perspective of his training in clinical psychology.
- Dr. Schwartz intends his responses to provide general educational information to the readership of this website; answers should not be understood to be specific advice intended for any particular individual(s).
- Questions submitted to this column are not guaranteed to receive responses.
- No correspondence takes place.
- No ongoing relationship of any sort (including but not limited to any form of professional relationship) is implied or offered by Dr. Schwartz to people submitting questions.
- Dr. Schwartz, MentalHealth.com, LLC make no warranties, express or implied, about the information presented in this column. Dr. Schwartz and Mental Help Net disclaim any and all merchantability or warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or liability in connection with the use or misuse of this service.
- Always consult with your psychotherapist, physician, or psychiatrist first before changing any aspect of your treatment regimen. Do not stop your medication or change the dose of your medication without first consulting with your physician.
Answer
Your question is both very short but very complicated. First, I cannot tell you about other drugs for the simple reason that I am not a psychiatrist, do not know your son, do not know his diagnosis and would never do such a thing over the Internet because it is not proper. However, I will offer advice based on my experience and opinion.
Twelve years is a long time to see one psychiatrist. If you son, now 28 years of age, wants a consult with a new psychiatrist, he should do so. It would be a good idea. It is true that there are new medications and there are also combinations of medications that help a lot.
An awful lot depends upon your son’s diagnosis because there are many conditions that can produce hallucinations. However, assuming that he has either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, he needs not only medication but psychotherapy types of treatment.
For example, and again, assuming that its schizophrenia, your son could benefit from being in a Continuing Day Treatment program where patients participate in group therapy, vocational counseling and psycho education whereby they learn about their illness and how to reduce stress and prevent relapses.
It would be a good idea for you and him to look up NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness. It can be found at: http://www.nami.org
Another excellent site is: http://www.schizophrenia.com where there is lots of information for you and him.
For families of those with mental illnesses there is also FAMI or Families for the Mental Illness. This can be found under NAMI.
Lastly, he or both of you could ask for a meeting with the present psychiatrist and discuss with him together the need for newer medications, the problems of the voices and how to get additional psychotherapy help. It is permissible to ask for a consult with another psychiatrist.
I hope this helps.
Best of Luck
Medical Reviewer: