schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms. These include: hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that do not exist), delusions (unusual beliefs that are not based on reality and often contradict the evidence), muddled thoughts based on the hallucinations or delusions, and changes in behaviour. Doctors describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means that sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.

Our schizophrenia Blogs

Cochrane review finds bupropion is the best treatment to help people with schizophrenia give up smoking

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People with schizophrenia are 2-3 times more likely to smoke tobacco than the rest of the population, so helping them quit is a significant public health issue. The evidence for smoking cessation interventions in the general population is fairly well defined. We know quite a bit about what works and we have a range of [read the full story…]

German cohort study finds no support for superiority of atypical antipsychotics in schizophrenia

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It is possible that those who were disengaging from interventions such as medication were less likely to take part in the study.

Schizophrenia according to the NICE guidelines, is a relatively common illness and in the majority of cases takes a chronic course, requiring continued management and careful attention.  In the treatment and management of schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications – like olanzapine, quetiapine or clozapine – are the first line intervention. Antipsychotics can be loosely divided into “first-generation” (“typical”) and [read the full story…]

New review confirms the strong association between criminal history and violence risk in psychosis

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What’s the relationship between violence and psychosis? It’s an emotive debate that’s been running for years. On the one hand we have the net curtain-twitching, tabloid-reading brigade who picture axe-wielding psychopaths as soon as they read the word schizophrenia. On the other we have patients, carers, mental health charities and many clinicians who claim that [read the full story…]

New report about supporting people with schizophrenia back into the labour market

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Back in November 2012, the Schizophrenia Commission reported that people with schizophrenia are being badly let down by the health and social care system and by the employment market. The final report of the commission (I blogged about it here) concluded that people with schizophrenia face a lifespan 15-20 years shorter than the general population and [read the full story…]

People with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to die from heart disease and cancer

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Unequal measures

Since starting this blog two years ago, I have written about a number of studies that highlight the health inequalities faced by people with severe mental illness. The evidence keeps piling up and it’s really quite shocking that we are not doing more to diagnose and treat physical health problems in people with conditions such [read the full story…]

Individual CBT, with or without family CBT, could be the best first line treatment for people at high risk of schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia is a debilitating illness that affects an estimated 25 million people worldwide. People with the condition can experience a huge amount of disability (both social, physical and psychological), but we know that early intervention can help reduce the duration of the illness and prevent further episodes of relapse. People with schizophrenia usually experience a [read the full story…]

NICE publish first guideline for psychosis and schizophrenia in children and young people

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Everyone who read the extracts from Michael Schofield’s memoir, published by the Guardian on January 19th, must surely have been moved by the sometimes harrowing description of his daughter Janni who was diagnosed with child-onset schizophrenia aged just 7 years old. Janni is an exception, as schizophrenia generally starts between the ages of 15 and [read the full story…]

Non-pharmacological interventions can help prevent and reduce weight gain in people who take antipsychotics

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The reduced life expectancy (15-20 years less) often faced by many people with schizophrenia is frequently a result of cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle choices (smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet) can increase the risk of these diseases, but people who take antipsychotic drugs often have the additional problem of weight gain that is caused by [read the full story…]

National Schizophrenia Audit calls for improved monitoring of physical health in people with schizophrenia

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Back in 2010, NICE published an updated edition of their schizophrenia guideline, to guide the treatment and management of patients with schizophrenia in primary and secondary care. The National Schizophrenia Audit is a new initiative led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and involving 8 other partner organisations including various professional membership organisations and 2 [read the full story…]

Progressive muscle relaxation may help reduce anxiety in schizophrenia

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People with schizophrenia often experience psychological distress and anxiety. This can have a knock on impact on the positive (delusions and hallucinations) and negative (apathy, social withdrawal, cognitive impairments) symptoms of schizophrenia. As a result, there’s lots of interest in psychosocial approaches that may help patients relax. These include talking treatments like CBT, as well [read the full story…]