Coping with Schizophrenia: A Guide for Patients, Families and Caregivers

What I liked about this book is that it discussed the importance for people who have recovered from schizophrenia to have valued activities and goals such as work in their lives. This quality of life issue is one that is far too often ignored by mental health professionals. They often feel that once they have stabilized the individual and controlled the psychotic symptoms, their job is done. But there is more to be done as these authors suggest in chapter nine. Work can be an important activity for those in recovery but they often don't participate in meaningful work because of numerous barriers that the the authors discuss. Some of these barriers are lack of confidence on the part of the individual but lack of support from others, ignorance and legislation are other reasons. This is an important area and I was pleased to see it dealt with in this book. Two other areas that I was pleased to see discussed were the role of the family and cognitive behavioral training (CBT). As with any illness, the ill person does require considerable support from family (and friends). The role that the family can play in recovery is discussed in Chapter ten. The impact that this illness has on the family and the reaction from friends is very well dramatized in the DVD Cutting For Stone Chapter seven is devoted to a discussion of CBT. This is a strategy that has been shown to be of value and that makes a good addition to the medication which isn't always 100% effective in dealing with the voices. Marvin Ross Author Schizophrenia: Medicine's Mystery - Society's Shame