Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Book - Early Treatment of Schizophrenia

New Book: Treating Schizophrenia in the Prodromal Phase by Alison Yung (Editor), Lisa Phillips (Editor), Patrick D. McGorry (Editor) 152 Pages, $39.17
(Prodromal refers to the early period, at the start of the disease, before full-blown psychosis is obvious).

A new book for medical doctors and mental health workers has been published on the very important issue of early identification and treatment of schizophrenia. The book is written by three of the leading experts in this field of early schizophrenia diagnosis, treatment and prevention (Dr. McGorry is perhaps the best known of the three editors). The type of work that Dr. McGorry and the others do is vitally important for families because research suggests that the earlier that schizophrenia is treated - the better the outcome. In fact research is suggesting that by treating people highly susceptible to schizophrenia may actually stop the development of the disease.

The book is well written and could be easily understood by readers who do not have a medical background. In fact for any family that has a significant history of schizophrenia, or higher risks (e.g. families with two or more family members who have schizophrenia, or children of parents who had schizophrenia) may want to get this book to learn about all the early symptoms and treatment approaches for best outcomes.

The book is also an excellent educational and training resource for any mental health professional who is concerned with treatment for serious mental illnesses. We also hope that it spurs on the development of more early diagnosis and treatment centers for schizophrenia - as is being done in many other parts of the developed world

There is a review of this new book in the journal Psychiatric Services, that we've briefly quoted below - click on the link at the bottom of the page to see the full book review at the Psychiatric Services web site:

Increasingly, we find ourselves interested in strategies for preventing or ameliorating in its earliest manifestations the horrible disease of schizophrenia. Thus research centers around the globe are working on learning what can be done in the earliest discernable stage of the illness. What we think we can discern we are labeling as "the prodromal phase," although it always remains to be seen whether a putative prodromal phase will become a psychotic illness. But we do know that in the ordinary course of events, treatment for psychotic illnesses often is begun a year or so too late, even after the psychosis has clearly begun. So any work that can help us intervene sooner in the course of illness will likely be very welcome.

In this remarkable and compact work, Treating Schizophrenia in the Prodromal Phase, the Australian authors describe their research in a specially created clinic for young people as well as similar work being done elsewhere. The book could be regarded as a primer on current thoughts about what constitutes a prodromal phase.

Read Full Article: Treating Schizophrenia in the Prodromal Phase

The Book is available for purchase via Amazon.com at:

Treating Schizophrenia in the Prodromal Phase

Dr. McGorry also has excellent books in a closely related areas: Psychological Interventions in Early Psychosis : A Treatment Handbook

Implementing Early Intervention in Psychosis: A Guide to Establishing Early Psychosis Services