`The summaries of evidence have provided ready-made challenges to previously unquestioned medical options ... the book provides a challenging update on the nature of scientific inquiry.' - British Journal of Clinical Psychology Despite nearly one hundred years of research, very little progress has been achieved in the understanding of schizophrenic behaviour. There remains considerable uncertainty even about the fundamental features of the hypothesised illness. Reconstructing Schizophrenia subjects the difficult concept of schizophrenia to rigorous scientific, historical and sociological scrutiny. They ask why a biological defect has been assumed in the absence of hard evidence and look at what can be done psychologically to alleviate schizophrenic symptoms. Finally, they explore what new models and research strategies are required in order to understand schizophrenic behaviour. The result is a book that provides a distinctive and critical perspective on modern psychiatric theories and which demonstrates the severe limitations of an exclusively medical approach to understanding madness.

Our understanding of schizophrenia has advanced considerably over the last 10 years, particularly with regard to neurobiological and psychological factors. This book brings together disparate literature into an accessible resource.

The Editors have a good reputation in this field. The book also has a good line-up of contributors. Provides a new approach to understanding the experience of psychosis that will have implications for clinicians, patients and researchers.

This book is a unique volume in which leading clinicians and researchers in the field of cognitive therapy for psychosis illustrate their individual approaches to the understanding of the difficulties faced by people with psychosis and how this informs intervention. Chapters include therapies focused on schizophrenia and individual psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions (including paranoia). Beck's original case study of cognitive therapy for psychosis from 1952 is reprinted, accompanied by his 50-year retrospective analysis. Also outlined are treatments for: • bipolar disorder • dual diagnosis • schema-focused approaches • early intervention to prevent psychosis • adherence to medication This book will be useful to clinicians and researchers alike, and will be an invaluable resource to mental health practitioners working with individuals experiencing psychosis.

Highly Commended in the Psychiatry category at the 2010 BMA Medical Book Awards! Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Schizophrenic Psychoses brings together professionals from around the world to provide an extensive overview of the treatment of schizophrenia and psychosis. Divided into three parts – past, present and future – the book begins by examining the history of the treatment of schizophrenia and psychosis, with reference to Freud, Jung, Harry Stack Sullivan and Adolf Meyer, amongst others. Part two then takes a geographical look at treatment and its evolution in different parts of the world including the UK, USA, Northern Europe and Eastern Asia. Finally, part three covers the range of interventions, from pharmacological treatments to psychoanalytic psychotherapy to CBT, with the aim of helping to shape the future integration of treatment. With contributions from leading figures in the field, this book will provide a varied examination of treatment, and spark much-needed debate about its future. As such it will be essential reading for all mental health professionals, in particular those involved in psychiatry, psychology and psychotherapy.

Psychosis has been the central subject of psychiatric research for more than a century and yet it remains an intriguing enigma. This volume reviews the current status of research on psychosis in three different aspects, namely, phenomenology, which is the philosophical/conceptual basis of psychosis; psychopathology, which is the clinical manifestations of psychosis; and pathophysiology, which is the scientific pursuit for the mechanism of psychosis. Chapters focus on schizophrenia, covering such topics as clinical staging, negative symptoms, epigenetics, DNA methyltransferases, and more.

[There has been an] extraordinary shift in how we understand andtreat psychosis, none more so than in the arena of EarlyIntervention (EI) bringing with it new hope for young people withemerging psychosis and their families. From the introduction to the book Centred around the Early Psychosis Declaration (EPD), this bookexplores the declaration's five themes through contributions from asizeable number of mental health practitioners, service-users andcarers. It is designed to help those working with peopleexperiencing psychosis at an early stage of illness to develop andimplement effective early intervention skills, enabling them toexamine and refine their practice. Most importantly, the book is apractical guide to delivering early intervention strategies with aunique focus on recovery. Includes an abundance of case studies to link theory topractice Evidence-based Edited by an team with a wealth of clinical and researchexperience Suitable for qualified practitioners from all disciplinesworking in the Early Intervention field, including mental healthnurses, psychiatrists, social workers, occupational therapists,clinical psychologists and lecturer/practitioners