Schizophrenia: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Schizophrenia is a mental illness, which involves relapsing and continuous incidences of psychosis. The genetic risk factor of schizophrenia is the occurrence of disease in a first degree family member. Environmental factors that lead to schizophrenia comprise infection, oxygen deprivation, prenatal stress, and malnutrition in the course of prenatal development. Adverse childhood experiences such as being abused or bullied, and the death of one of the parents can result in toxic stress and surge the risk of psychosis. The earliest and most repetitive sign of schizophrenia is cognitive deficits. They are commonly evident in early childhood and long before the beginning of illness in the prodromal stage. Cognitive deficits worsen during the initial episode of psychosis, then return to baseline and stay constant throughout the disease. An antipsychotic is the first-line cure for schizophrenia. Various psychological interventions which comprise psychotherapy can prove useful in treating schizophrenia, such as group therapy, family therapy, cognitive remediation therapy, metacognitive training and cognitive behavioral therapy. This book provides detailed explanation of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia. It is a resource guide for experts as well as students.