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A Model and Evidence Base for Achieving Complete Recovery in Schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia Treatment Outcomes

Abstract

Persons with schizophrenia endure several types of losses. These include clinical, functional, personal, and material losses. Recovering all these losses is complete recovery. However, the core of recovery is personal. It is the experience of full acceptance by all as an individual and fellow human being with dignity and respect.

Despite more than 120 years of research and pursuit of therapies, schizophrenia remains a disorder with much suffering, refractory symptoms, and significant disability. Persons with schizophrenia often experience much stigma; loss of sense of purpose; lack of hope, faith, and happiness; low self-esteem; and diminished sense of self.

Clinical symptomatic recovery occurs in 50–60% of persons with schizophrenia. Remission including functional recovery occurs in a much smaller number of persons, varying between 15% and 40%. Personal recovery occurs in a variable number of persons and needs more study. Professionals and the public alike remain largely unappreciative of the depth of personal losses, and much work needs to be done to overcome this critical gap.

Ideas and concepts regarding recovery and interventions and therapies for complete recovery are in a relatively early stage of development. Nevertheless, it is currently feasible to develop a model for complete recovery and implement a program aspiring to achieve the same. Evidence-based therapies, both biological and psychosocial, exist and can form the foundation of such a model, while we continue efforts with newer approaches to build on this platform to achieve complete recovery from this serious mental illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Psychiatry, Richmond, VA, USA

    Ananda K. Pandurangi

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Correspondence to Ananda K. Pandurangi .

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  1. Lawson Health Research Institute, Western University Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada

    Amresh Shrivastava

  2. Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, De Sousa Foundation, Mumbai, India

    Avinash De Sousa

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Pandurangi, A.K. (2020). A Model and Evidence Base for Achieving Complete Recovery in Schizophrenia. In: Shrivastava, A., De Sousa, A. (eds) Schizophrenia Treatment Outcomes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19847-3_8

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