Against "Schizophrenia"

[PanAtheist]

New Scientist Magazine has an article this week, with some info on the disadvantages of the word and classification "schizophrenia", and about a campaign to get rid of.

Essentially (if I get the gist) it's not a biological category, it is just a catch-all for a variety of conditions, which have, probably, several and diverse causes ....And it is unhelpful label for patients, and for those treating them, and society generally.


Down With Schizophrenia @ New Scientist Mag
(Full Access for subscribers only)

David Kingdom, New Scientist Mag wrote

a century of trying to unpick the biological basis of schizophrenia has made very little progress, and has been utterly unhelpful to patients. The assumption that there is a biological cause, rooted in the brain and stripped of environmental influence, leaves patients thinking they have no hope of recovery. It also causes others to distance themselves from the patient in a way that disorders such as anxiety and depression do not. In contrast, there have been major advances in understanding the social and psychological context of psychosis in general, and this has led to the development of successful interventions. Cognitive behavioural therapy, for example, can help treat symptoms. And work with people who hear voices has challenged the assumption that the phenomenon is inevitably pathological. This realisation has transformed the way that voices are considered, and helped many individuals to cope with stigmatisation and unhelpful labels, and to deal with their hallucinations more positively.

It's an interesting article, worth reading in full.