Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia changes how a person takes in the world. Hallucinations, fixed beliefs that others don't share, and thinking that jumps or stalls can make ordinary things hard: getting to an appointment, keeping a conversation going, trusting the person at the pharmacy counter. It usually first shows up between the late teens and early thirties, right when most people are finishing school, starting work and living on their own.
Medication is usually part of treatment, and for many people it quiets the loudest symptoms. What it rarely does on its own is rebuild a routine, a job, or friendships that slipped away during a hard year. That is the part Sanare works on.
What it can look like day to day
Families often describe the same things. A son who stopped leaving his room. A daughter who missed three psychiatry appointments in a row and ran out of medication. Bills stacking up unopened. A job lost after a stretch of paranoia at work.
Some symptoms are easy to spot, like hearing voices. Others, often called negative symptoms, are quieter: low motivation, flat expression, pulling away from people. These are the ones that tend to get mistaken for laziness, and they often do the most damage to independence.
How Sanare helps
Our clinicians meet clients where daily life happens: at home, at the grocery store, on the bus route to work. Visits run from one to five times a week, and every client works with at least two people on our team, so support doesn't stop when someone is sick or on vacation.
Medication routines. Pill organizers, refill reminders, and getting to the prescriber. We don't prescribe, but we work closely with the psychiatrist who does.
Reality testing and coping skills. Practical ways to check a frightening thought, manage voices, and calm down before things escalate.
Early warning signs. Learning a person's own pattern before a relapse, such as poor sleep or new suspicion, so the team can respond early.
Work, school and housing. Applications, accommodations, landlord calls and the follow-through that keeps them in place.
Social connection. Rebuilding conversation skills and finding one or two places to go that aren't a clinic.
Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy adapted for psychosis can lower distress from voices and delusions. Read more in our post on CBT and schizophrenia.
Working with families
Most of our clients with schizophrenia have a parent or sibling who has been carrying a lot for a long time. With the client's permission, we keep family in the loop, explain what we're seeing, and help everyone agree on what to do if symptoms return. Kristina Brown on our team works as a family consultant for exactly this.
Other care we coordinate with
Psychosocial rehabilitation fits alongside other treatment. Many clients also see a psychiatrist, a therapist, or a coordinated specialty care program for early psychosis. We talk with those providers regularly so everyone is working from the same plan. The National Institute of Mental Health and Mayo Clinic both have clear overviews of medical treatment if you want to read further.
Getting started
We work with adults 18 and older in Denver, Boulder and the surrounding metro. The first step is a 15 minute call with our founder, Briana Severine, followed by a free 30 minute consultation. Contact us or call 303.476.1974, and see our FAQ for cost and coverage.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911, or call or text 988.