Schizophrenia, which is considered the most severe psychiatric disorder, is characterized by many impairments, such as psychosis and apathy, cognitive deficits and comorbid symptoms, as well as disrupted functioning and behavioral problems. Diagnostic…

The current most widely accepted approach for diagnostic interviewing in psychiatric assessment is the use of structured interviews. The main advantage of structured interviews is that they provide a standardized approach for gathering…

Psychiatric diagnosis involves use of generic clinical assessment skills, such as combining open-ended and close-ended questions, as well as specialized skills needed to address challenges associated with psychiatric impairments. In this section we…

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is usually made between ages 15 and 25.  During those 10 years, schizophrenia is diagnosed in 12 men to every 10 women (32). This may be because the…

It is crucial to realize that schizophrenia is not the cause of all psychotic symptoms. Psychosis is a general term used to describe psychotic symptoms whereas schizophrenia is…

Once a patient is diagnosed with schizophrenia, a clinician considers his or her symptoms and determines a subtype diagnosis.

There are four subtypes of schizophrenia. Each subtype is based upon the types of…

All the behaviors you just read about may be symptoms of schizophrenia, although very few patients with schizophrenia exhibit all these symptoms. Instead, most individuals with the disease display a few of these symptoms. The…

Schizophrenia is a disease that does not discriminate based on race, culture, social status, or gender. Anywhere in the world, in every culture, one person out of every hundred suffers from schizophrenia. Signs of schizophrenia…

Emilio is a 40-year-old man who came to the hospital with his mother. He is dressed in a dirty coat, bedroom slippers, and a baseball cap and has several medals hanging around his neck. He…