Supervising the counselling of a young person in his late teens experiencing psychotic symptoms associated with cannabis use*
Richard Bryant‐Jefferies
CRC Press eBooks November 22, 2017 DOI: 10.1201/9781315378053-11 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Ali, a late-teenage boy using cannabis, in counselling at a drug agency |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | The account describes Ali's inconsistent engagement with counselling and keyworking sessions at a drug agency, while the service continued reaching out to maintain contact. It notes uncertainty over whether his cannabis use caused his paranoia and voices or drew on a pre-existing tendency. |
Abstract
Charlotte is working with Ali, who is in his late teens. He is the son of Fareeda. His father is white, English and he has a younger brother, Adam. Her supervisor is Matt. Ali has been using cannabis for some years, and has begun using the stronger ‘skunk’ cannabis which is more powerful than the dope, grass and marihuana of previous years. It is difficult to know whether his cannabis use caused the particular mental disturbances that he has experienced – paranoia, voices – or whether it exploited a tendency that already existed. Ali came the following week and has since attended the counselling sessions inconsistently. He has also missed some keyworking sessions at the drug agency where he was referred and where he is receiving the counselling. However, the service has stayed with him, seeking to maintain contact and to offer further counselling appointments, and keyworking sessions.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychotic Reactions Following Cannabis Use in East Indians Patients at an Indian drug addiction clinic who developed acute cannabis-related psychosis | 1974 | Descriptive report (case series of clinical observations) | n = 200 |
| Psychiatric effects of cannabis use Swedish cases of cannabis psychosis | 1985 | Case series | n = 70 |
| Forty-Six Cases of Psychosis in Cannabis Abusers Gunila Bernhardson Habitual cannabis users treated for psychosis at Swedish psychiatric clinics and mental... | 1972 | Case series (retrospective survey of psychiatric records) | n = 46 |
| Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study 18-year-old man with HPPD after mixed psilocybin and cannabis intoxication | 2005 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Cannabis‐induced Koro in Americans American men aged 22-26 with years of cannabis experience who reported negative... | 2001 | Case series | n = 3 |