New Hope for People With Schizophrenia

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Doctors say there are approximately 2.5 million people with schizophrenia. Of those, typically 10-20% will achieve successful recovery. However, new research suggests that treatment of schizophrenia could be up to 68% successful if psycho-social therapy is applied. In fact, famous schizophrenics like Nobel prize winning mathematician John Nash, Pink Floyd guitarist Syd Barrett or author Jack Kerouac have all gone on to live thriving lives with the help of medication and schizophrenia support counseling.

A major problem with the treatment of schizophrenia is that it focuses solely on medication to attack the positive symptoms - which include aural and visual hallucinations, disordered thinking and outright delusions. While medication is essential, many schizophrenia patients have trouble staying on their medication. They may dislike the side effects of the anti-psychotic drugs or they may feel like they’ve been “cured” if the symptoms haven’t reappeared in awhile. Yet schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that most people have for their entire lives that may lie dormant and resurface suddenly and without warning. Therefore, behavior therapy and schizophrenia support are crucial to one’s recovery.

The best treatment of schizophrenia addresses the disorder’s negative symptoms too. “Negative symptoms” pertains to things that people are lacking. For instance, many schizophrenics have what is called “agoraphobia,” meaning a fear of people and social situations. They lack the ability to talk easily with others or the understanding of how to act. They may also lack emotional responsiveness, making it difficult to show love or receive love from others, hindering romantic relationships. They also lack motivation and suffer depression.

For people with schizophrenia, the goal is to help them integrate into daily life. Dr. Henry Tomes of the APA says, “The primary goal is to allow people to work at competitive jobs.” The best behavior therapy provides patients with education about schizophrenia, work and social skills training, emphasizes the importance of medication and lets them know what to do when they feel the severe symptoms arising. Psychologists find that the more involved patients are in their own recovery, the better off they are.

Currently, people with schizophrenia cost the government and tax payers $30 to $65 billion per year, according to the National Institute of Health. Private insurance companies refuse to add social services, counseling and behavior therapy to their plans, therefore leaving the financial burden of recovery on the patients themselves. Despite this hurdle, research continually suggests that the best schizophrenia treatment includes job counseling, education, problem-solving and money management skills, use of public transportation, and social skills training.