2011 NC Council of Community Program Conference

Once a person is diagnosed, they understand their symptoms and aren't affected by them as much.

You can talk someone with schizophrenia out of their delusions.

Pointing out a person's symptoms, or labeling them with a diagnosis, is rarely enough to make symptoms go away, whether you are talking about depression, mania, psychosis, or any other illness for that matter. Just telling a person it is a delusion, or a product of their mind rarely helps.

The idea of insight, having an understanding of the illness and its effects, is what many of the psychosocial treatments work to instill. Using the process of psychoeducation, a care provider teaches about the specific illness, how it affects people, and how treatments work. Cognitive-behavioral approaches help people evaluate their beliefs and how those affect their feelings and behaviors. Group interventions help break the isolation and allow peers to educate each other and practice skills together. Family psychoeducation and family groups help families understand these interactions and reinforce them outside of the session.

Over the course of an illness, individuals can achieve a great deal of insight and significant coping skills that will help them not only understand but manage their symptoms. That is often a gradual process achieved over time, and can be an important part of the recovery process.

SAMHSA, the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Agency, combines several of those modalities in toolkits available for free via their website. Check out Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), Family Psychoeducation (FPE), Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), and Supported Employment, which are all particularly relevant for people with schizophrenia and other SPMIs. (http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA09-4463)