Schizophrenia, a term coined in 1908 by Eugen Bleuler, is one of the most difficult mental illnesses to treat. Rates of recovery today are no better than they were 100 years ago. Antipsychotics, which target dopamine receptors in the brain, are the most common model of treatment, though the side effects can be crippling and permanent, and may even worsen the symptoms and prevent recovery. Part of the problem is that schizophrenia as biomedical concept has not been validated. Research has shown that people with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders tend to have abnormalities in the metabolism of tetrahydrobiopterin, dopamine, and glutamate, but how these abnormalities might cause the symptoms of schizophrenia is not understood. The illness has been shown to run in families, but specific genes have not yet been identified.

Some doctors are trying alternatives to drugs, like cognitive behavioral therapy, a kind of talk therapy that involves actively reorienting one’s thought patterns. It has been used to treat depression for over a decade, but some research suggests it may also be effective at treating schizophrenia.

Some believe schizophrenics are better off learning to cope with their voices, including journalist Robert Whitaker, who writes about it at his website Mad in America. In fact, studies have shown that schizophrenics in developing countries, where antipsychotics are less widely available, have better rates of long-term recovery than those in developed nations. Continue reading →