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What are psychotic disorders?
• There are several different types of psychotic disorders (see Table 2). Psychotic disorders
are characterised based on the type of symptoms experienced and how long the person
has had them. Some people experience short episodes of psychosis that last a few days or
weeks. Others, such as those with schizophrenia, experience longer episodes of psychosis.
• Psychotic symptoms may also be present in people with major depressive disorder or
bipolar disorder. For further information on these conditions please see the booklet
Mood and Substance Use
in this series. Psychotic symptoms may also arise from a
medical condition (e.g., head injury, brain tumour).
Table 2.
Types of psychotic disorders
Brief psychotic disorder
A person with brief psychotic disorder experiences psychotic symptoms for less than
one month. Symptoms are usually triggered by an extremely stressful event (e.g., death
of a loved one).
Schizophreniform disorder
This is when a person has symptoms similar to schizophrenia, that last more than one
month, but less than six months.
Schizophrenia
A diagnosis of schizophrenia is given when a person has had symptoms of psychosis
for at least six months. The major symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions,
hallucinations and jumbled thoughts. A person with schizophrenia might also have
thinking difficulties (e.g., trouble concentrating and remembering things much more
than usual); they might experience loss of motivation to perform everyday activities;
they could have a significant reduction in their ability to experience and express
emotions; and they might withdraw from social settings and personal relationships.
Schizoaffective disorder
A person with schizoaffective disorder experiences the symptoms of schizophrenia
as well as the symptoms of a mood disorder, such as depression or mania. For more
information on mood disorders, see the booklet
Mood and Substance Use
.
Delusional disorder
A person with delusional disorder has strong beliefs about things that could occur in
real life but which are not true. For example, they might think that people are following
them, or are listening in to their phone calls. These beliefs need to be present for at
least one month.
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