Early in her life, Sandra started to exhibit the symptons of paranoid schizophrenia which came as a surprise to her unsuspecting family. Her book chronicles her struggles, hospitalisations, encounters with professionals, return to school, eventual marriage and success as an artist, writer, and advocate.

This book analyzes schizophrenia management in the context of recent clinical therapeutic advances that have transformed the measurements and outcomes landscape. Unlike any other resource, this volume carefully develops the social and clinical guidelines that affect the life of the patient and defines its role in schizophrenia treatment outcomes. The text begins by determining the concepts, development, neuroscience, and guidelines for positive outcomes before analyzing the gaps in the literature. The text addresses medical concerns in relation to outcomes in schizophrenic patients, including substance use, impact from antipsychotic medications, and medical comorbidities. The text also covers external determinants that may inhibit positive outcomes, including cultural factors, stigma, and environmental issues. Written by experts in schizophrenia care, this book compiles sound research, current clinical trends, and modern measurement markers into a well-organized compendium that delivers this data into a practical guide for measuring treatment outcomes in patients suffering from the disease. Schizophrenia Treatment Outcomes is the ultimate guide for psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and all medical practitioners interested in improving outcomes for schizophrenia patients.

'Recovery from Schizophrenia' demonstrates convincingly, but controversially, how political, economic and labour market forces shape social responses to the mentally ill, mould psychiatric treatment philosophy, and influence the onset and course of one of the most common forms of mental illness.

An essential volume for improving understanding of the recovery process for people diagnosed with schizophrenia Schizophrenia is widely considered the most severe and disabling of the mental illnesses. Yet recent research has demonstrated that many people afflicted with the disorder are able to recover to a significant degree. Living Outside Mental Illness demonstrates the importance of listening to what people diagnosed with schizophrenia themselves have to say about their struggle, and shows the dramatic effect this approach can have on clinical practice and social policy. It presents an in-depth investigation, based on a phenomenological perspective, of experiences of illness and recovery as illuminated by compelling first-person descriptions. This volume forcefully makes the case for the utility of qualitative methods in improving our understanding of the reasons for the success or failure of mental health services. The research has important clinical and policy implications, and will be of key interest to those in psychology and the helping professions as well as to people in recovery and their families.

Focuses on a shift away from traditional clinical preoccupations towards new priorities of supporting the patient.

The third edition of this indispensable manual thoroughly details everything patients, families, and mental health professionals need to know about one of the most widespread and misunderstood illnesses.

It is only in the past 20 years that the concept of 'recovery' from mental health has been more widely considered and researched. Before then, it was generally considered that 'stability' was the best that anyone suffering from a mental disorder could hope for. But now it is recognised that, throughout their mental illness, many patients develop new beliefs, feelings, values, attitudes, and ways of dealing with their disorder. The notion of recovery from mental illness is thus rapidly being accepted and is inserting more hope into mainstream psychiatry and other parts of the mental health care system around the world. Yet, in spite of conceptual and other challenges that this notion raises, including a variety of interpretations, there is scarcely any systematic philosophical discussion of it. This book is unique in addressing philosophical issues - including conceptual challenges and opportunities - raised by the notion of recovery of people with mental illness. Such recovery - particularly in relation to serious mental illness such as schizophrenia - is often not about cure and can mean different things to different people. For example, it can mean symptom alleviation, ability to work, or the striving toward mental well-being (with or without symptoms). The book addresses these different meanings and their philosophical grounds, bringing to the fore perspectives of people with mental illness and their families as well as perspectives of philosophers, mental health care providers and researchers, among others. The important new work will contribute to further research, reflective practice and policy making in relation to the recovery of people with mental illness.It is essential reading for philosophers of health, psychiatrists, and other mental care providers, as well as policy makers.

ACT for Psychosis Recovery is the first book to provide a breakthrough, evidence-based, step-by-step approach for group work with clients suffering from psychosis. As evidenced in a study by Patricia A. Bach and Steven C. Hayes, patients with psychotic symptoms who received acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in addition to treatment as usual showed half the rate of rehospitalization as those who did not. With this important guide, you’ll learn how a patient’s recovery can be both supported and sustained by promoting acceptance, mindfulness, and values-driven action. The journey of personal recovery from psychosis is immensely challenging. Patients often struggle with paranoia, auditory hallucinations, difficulties with motivation, poor concentration and memory, and emotional dysregulation. In addition, families and loved ones may have trouble understanding psychosis, and stigmatizing attitudes can limit opportunity and create alienation for patients. True recovery from psychosis means empowering patients to take charge of their lives. Rather than focusing on pathology, ACT teaches patients how to stay grounded in the present moment, disengage from their symptoms, and pursue personally meaningful lives based on their values. In this groundbreaking book, you will learn how to facilitate ACT groups based on a central metaphor (Passengers on the Bus), so that mindfulness and values-based action are introduced in a way that is engaging and memorable. You will also find tips and strategies to help clients identify valued directions, teach clients how to respond flexibly to psychotic symptoms, thoughts, and emotions that have been barriers to living a valued life, and lead workshops that promote compassion and connection among participants. You’ll also find tried and tested techniques for engaging people in groups, particularly those traditionally seen as “hard to reach”—people who may be wary of mental health services or experience paranoia. And finally, you’ll gain skills for engaging participants from various ethnic backgrounds. Finding purpose and identity beyond mental illness is an important step in a patient’s journey toward recovery. Using the breakthrough approach in this book, you can help clients gain the insight needed to achieve lasting well-being.

"Staying Well After Psychosis is extremely readable, based on solid research evidence and packed full of clinical insights and strategies that will satisfy any clinician seeking innovative approaches to the promotion of recovery from psychosis." —Anthony P. Morrison, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Manchester, UK Over the past decade our understanding of the experience of psychosis has changed dramatically. As part of this change, a range of psychological models of psychosis and associated interventions have developed. Staying Well After Psychosis presents an individually based psychological intervention targeting emotional recovery and relapse prevention. This approach considers the cognitive, interpersonal and developmental aspects involved in recovery and vulnerability to the recurrence of psychosis. Andrew Gumley and Matthias Schwannauer provide a framework for recovery and staying well that focuses on emotional and interpersonal adaptation to psychosis. This practical manual covers, in detail, all aspects of the therapeutic process of Cognitive Interpersonal Therapy, including: Taking a developmental perspective on help seeking and affect regulation. Supporting self-reorganisation and adaptation after acute psychosis. Understanding and treating traumatic reactions to psychosis. Working with humiliation, entrapment, loss and fear of recurrence appraisals during recovery. Working with cognitive interpersonal schemata. Developing coping in an interpersonal context. Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals will find this innovative treatment manual to be a valuable resource in their work with adults and adolescents. This book will also be of interest to lecturers and students of clinical psychology and mental health.