Someone with brief psychotic disorder will probably get medication to treat psychotic symptoms and possibly also psychotherapy (a type of counseling). That person may need to be hospitalized for a time if the symptoms are severe or might harm himself or someone else. The earlier the treatment, the better the outcome. Psychotherapy is a type of counseling, or “talk therapy.” The goal is to help the person identify and handle the situation or event that triggered the disorder. The doctor might also prescribe antipsychotic drugs to ease or eliminate the symptoms and end the brief psychotic disorder.
The FDA hasn’t approved any medicines specifically to treat brief psychotic disorder. Doctors often prescribe antipsychotics that are used to treat schizophrenia. These include:
Chlorpromazine (Thorazine)
Fluphenazine (Prolixin)
Haloperidol (Haldol)
Loxapine (Loxitane)
Perphenazine (Trilafon)
Trifluoperazine (Stelazine)
Thioridazine (Mellaril)
Thiothixene (Navane)