Between Reason and Illusion

This book realistically describes the experiences of people living with schizophrenia and their families, from the detection of the first symptoms until the development of treatments and strategies to cope with this unique human condition. Schizophrenia is a form of psychosis in which subjective aspects, such as hallucinatory and delusional phenomena, tend to distort the understanding of reality. Because psychotic states fluctuate in intensity over time, those affected literally live between reason and illusion.

Between Reason and Illusion: Demystifying Schizophrenia is an invitation to understand what it means to develop schizophrenia and to live with it throughout one's life. And this is an invitation to all those who are in some way affected by this condition: those who live with it, family members, friends, health professionals, and everyone who want to have a non-stigmatized view of mental disorders and people who live with them.  

“Faced with psychosis, the person affected by the disease and the family are lost and go looking for alternative or spiritual help, which usually delays the beginning of treatment. Jorge, Cecília and Rodrigo had the courage to face a difficult theme and the happy idea of writing a book of an educational nature about schizophrenia. The book's originality lies in the fact that it was written taking into account the experience of the person with the disease and his or her family members in the face of this something new that has occurred in their lives”. - Dr. Itiro Shirakawa, Professor Emeritus of the Paulista Medical School of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP/EPM), Brazil.

Jorge Cândido de Assis has been living with schizophrenia for 38 years. He is an Industrial Technician in Electrotechnics, a member of the Schizophrenia Program Team (PROESQ) of the Department of Psychiatry of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), and Guest Professor in the Medicine Course at UNIFESP. He was Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Relatives, Friends and Patients with Schizophrenia (ABRE) (2009-2020).

Cecília Cruz Villares is a mental health practitioner and family therapist from São Paulo, Brazil. She has a background training in Occupational therapy, a master’s degree in Mental Health, and is a certified practitioner and trainer in Open Dialogue by the Institute for Dialogic Practices (NY- USA). As a director at NOOS Institute, she coordinates Training Programs in Dialogic Practices and Open Dialogue in Brazil, Portugal and Spain, and Latin America. She worked at the Department of Psychiatry of São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP) from 1984 to 2017, as a team member at the Schizophrenia Outpatient Team. Since 2000, she has coordinated a project that established strategies and actions ranging from research to education and advocacy aimed at reducing the stigma associated with schizophrenia in Brazil. One of the main accomplishments of this effort has been the launching of a national Schizophrenia Association (ABRE) dedicated to support and empower people with schizophrenia and their family members, and to disseminate information to the professional and lay community.

Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan, psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is a Professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and at the King’s College in London, UK. He led the Schizophrenia Program at UNIFESP for 10 years and authored more than four hundred scientific articles some of them focused in ‘hope'. He is the president of Instituto Ame Sua Mente (Love Your Mind Institute), focused on the prevention of mental disorders and advocacy of mental health in schools. In 2016, Rodrigo was awarded with the Legislative Merit Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Brazilian Congress, for his educational work to destigmatize people with mental disorders and ensure their rights.