# Humanism and Psychosis: Working With Patients Who Have Potential Medical Comorbidities Along With Mental Illness

## TL;DR

This paper discusses how to improve mental health care for marginalized patients by addressing communication and trust issues.

## Contribution

The paper presents a case report emphasizing patient-centered communication in mental health treatment.

## Key findings

- A case report highlights the impact of medical mistrust and discrimination on mental health care.
- Using the BPRS scale, the patient's condition was assessed as moderate.
- Effective communication and transparency can improve treatment outcomes for marginalized patients.

## Abstract

Marginalized groups, such as Black participants experiencing homelessness and diagnosed with schizophrenia, often face significant barriers to care. Improvements in treatment can be achieved by incorporating patient views, addressing stigmas, avoiding medical jargon, respecting patient preferences, and demonstrating transparency and positive affect. We discuss one example in our case report where a newly unhoused woman with schizophrenia, highlighting the impact of medical mistrust, discrimination, and ineffective communication in mental health care. We retrospectively used the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score to assess the severity of the patient's psychiatric condition after her workup. The severity of the BPRS scale is graded as mild (31-40 total score), moderate (41-52 total score), and severe (above 52 total score). Using this scale and our case report, we aim to highlight the importance of emphasizing the rationale of the plan of care to patients, explaining their diagnoses, and reasoning of diagnostics without using medical jargon.