Silvina Hirschberg

Quality of Life and Symptomatology in Schizophrenia: Understanding Patient's Subjective View and Enhancing Treatment. Silvina Hirschberg

While one of the most studied disorders in the field of psychology, schizophrenia continues to be resistant to the modes of treatment most commonly used, be these pharmacological or psychological. People with schizophrenia continue to be for the most part, unable to function normally in the community, to sustain meaningful relationships, and to be satisfied with their lives. The present book is a quantitative study that examines quality of life and its relationship to three symptom presentations, positive, negative and disorganized, of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Findings demonstrate the differential impact that symptom presentation has on the individual, and underlines the call for treatment based it. An awareness of what a patient?s symptoms might be telling us about their subjective feelings could help to tailor treatment to the specific needs of each patient, and help the clinician guiding his assessment, enhancing treatment alliance, empowering the patient and avoiding drop out.