The Complete Family Guide to Schizophrenia: Helping Your Loved One Get the Most Out of Life

by Kim T. Mueser PhD, Susan Gingerich MSW

Overview

Will the person you love ever get better? Chances are you've grappled with the question. With care and support from their families, people with schizophrenia can and do make vast improvements. Noted therapists Kim Mueser and Susan Gingerich deepen your understanding of the illness and cover a wide range of effective treatments. Based on decades of research and experience, they offer pragmatic suggestions for dealing with depression, psychosis, and other symptoms. They show you how to prioritize needs, resolve everyday problems, and encourage your loved one to set life goals. Plus, individual sections highlight special issues for parents, children, siblings, and partners. Whether you’re facing schizophrenia for the first time or you’ve dealt with its impact for years, you’ll discover innovative ways to handle challenges that arise over the course of treatment, from reducing the chances of relapse to making friends and finding work. Recovery isn't an endpoint—it's a lifelong journey. With love, hope, and realistic optimism, striving for it can lead to a richer, more rewarding life for your entire family.
Winner, NAMI/Ken Book Award

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781593851804
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	05/26/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	675,442
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kim T. Mueser, PhD, a clinical psychologist, is Executive Director of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University. His clinical and research interests include the treatment of schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress disorder and the diagnosis and treatment of people with multiple disorders. He has published extensively and lectures often on the topic of psychiatric rehabilitation.

Susan Gingerich, MSW, is a clinician and consultant with more than 20 years of clinical experience working with people who have severe mental illness and their families. She has an independent practice in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Foreword, Harriet P. Lefley, PhD
Preface
I. An Overview of Schizophrenia
1. Schizophrenia: Basic Facts, Course, and Outcome
2. Diagnosis and Symptoms
3. Creating a Vision of Recovery
4. Comprehensive Treatment of Schizophrenia
5. Community Resources
II. Special Issues for Family Members
6. Parents
7. Siblings
8. Spouses and Partners
9. Parenting and Children
III. Preventing Relapses
10. Medications
11. Managing Stress
12. Developing a Relapse Prevention Plan
13. Responding to Crises
IV. Creating a Supportive Environment
14. Communicating Effectively
15. Solving Problems
16. Living in Harmony
V. Coping with Specific Problems
17. Psychotic Symptoms
18. Negative Symptoms
19. Cognitive Difficulties
20. Anxiety
21. Depression
22. Alcohol and Drug Abuse
23. Anger and Violence
24. Lack of Insight
VI. Improving Quality of Life
25. Social Relationships
26. Work and School
27. Independent Living and Self-Care Skills
28. Leisure and Recreation
29. Dealing with Stigma
30. Planning for the Future
Resources

Interviews

Anyone involved in caring for a loved one with severe mental illness. Also of interest to mental health and medical professionals who work with people with schizophrenia and their families.

Editorial Reviews

"A straightforward, practical, user-friendly resource that not only provides a thorough overview of the challenging realities—both for the consumer and for family membersof everyday life with schizophrenia, but also details in plain English what can be done to help improve the quality of life for each member of the family."

Schizophrenia Digest

"Needed information can be found in this truly remarkable book. It is outstanding not only for the information it provides, but for its organization....I have seen many books about family experiences while living with a relative who has schizophrenia and there are several that tell how to cope, but this book stands alone for thoroughness. The authors have included almost everything a family member needs to know....It is written with clarity and an understanding of the questions a reader might have....I think so highly of this book that I believe that community mental health center or hospital staff should give a copy to every family when a diagnosis of schizophrenia is made."

The Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal

Reviewer: Nicholas Greco IV, MS, BCETS, CATSM, FAAETS (C3 Education and Research, Inc.)
Description: This is one of the most thorough, well written, and meaningful books ever written for family members and friends of those with schizophrenia. This book contains more than just basic information, yet maintains a readable and compassionate stance.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide family and friends with the information to effectively play a well informed role in the care of their loved one. Families are demanding more than just the ability to cope with their loved one's illness, and this book answers those demands with information essential for the new role that family and friends are embracing. This book is a most powerful tool that enables an active presence of family and friends that are so essential in the lives of our patients.
Audience: First and foremost, family and friends will benefit tremendously from this book. In addition, it is essential reading for graduate students in the mental health professions as it provides a different perspective which will aid in their learning and eventual growth as mental healthcare providers. The authors are well known members of the mental health community. This book is one of Dr. Mueser's finest contributions to the field.
Features: The authors do a wonderful job of explaining schizophrenia, thus providing the needed background to explore such topics as special issues for family members and relapse prevention. The section on relapse prevention is essential to ultimately creating the supportive environment. As persons with schizophrenia do have unique issues, part five is devoted to specific problems such as the psychotic (positive) symptoms, the negative symptoms, cognitive problems, anxiety, depression, anger and violence, and alcohol and substance abuse. As many clinical studies have begun to assess the quality of life, the authors provide a lengthy and appropriate discussion on these issues. The affordable price makes the book accessible to the general public.
Assessment: This is one of the most valuable books that any concerned family member or friend of a person with schizophrenia will read. If one is looking for a complete, unbiased, and informative family guide on schizophrenia, look no further!

Doody's Review Service

"A remarkable book. It is authoritative, comprehensive, well written, and very easy to reference and use. It is filled with useful advice and information on topics such as symptoms of schizophrenia, specific family issues related to the illness, relapse prevention, improving communications, co-occurring substance abuse, involvement with the community, and many other issues and problems faced by persons with schizophrenia....One of the real strengths of this book is how it navigates the relationship between consumers and their families in regard to issues such as autonomy and independence....In my future practice, I will recommend this excellent book whenever I encounter family members whose relative has schizophrenia. It can serve as a guidebook that can be initially read to learn about the area and later referred to in regard to specific issues that arise. I would also recommend it for graduate students who are interested in working with persons with serious mental illness."

PsycCRITIQUES

"A comprehensive and detailed explanation of the causes, symptoms, comorbidities, treatments, and expected outcomes of schizophrenia, along with specific management and coping recommendations for the family members of people with this disorder....This book...is very accessible to family members and consumers in both style and contents. It takes a hands-on approach in providing family caregivers with concrete advice....differs from earlier self-help books on this topic in that its explication of the clinical course of people with schizophrenia embraces of people with schizophrenia embraces contemporary views of recovery and offers guidance in coping with mental illness stigma, thereby empowering caregivers to help empower their relatives. Finally, this book is innovative in that it includes sections on issues and concerns unique to caregivers with different family relationships to the consumer...and for caregivers whose relatives have specific kinds of symptoms or comorbidities....should be on the .must read. list for every mental health professional and family member of a relative with schizophrenia."

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

"Information presented in a highly readable form and is current. Coverage is comprehensive and includes samples and descriptions of typical symptoms. The reader is helped to make the symptoms of schizophrenia understandable and to recognize the impact on others....[A] comprehensive collection of information and links to resources that should prove to be of great value to anyone dealing with a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia."

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews

"An extensive reference for families....The information provided is clearly written, realistic, optimistic in tone, and useful for families at many stages of dealing with the challenges of schizophrenia....As a clinician in a large public academic setting, I would highly recommend the Mueser and Gingerich guide to any patient or family seeking a greater understanding of the complex challenges facing them with schizophrenia and realistic, hopeful ways of meeting those challenges."

Cognitive Therapy

"If your loved one has schizophrenia, it challenges your whole family. Mueser and Gingerich cover all the bases to guide you along the road to recovery. Realistic and optimistic at the same time, this book is informative and practical from start to finish."—William T. Carpenter, Jr., MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine and Maryland Psychiatric Research Center

"After our son was diagnosed with schizophrenia, we spent the next four years learning about the illness and trying to help him. We were losing hope until we met Dr. Mueser. With Dr. Mueser's help, and using the principles outlined in this book, our lives and our son's life have greatly improved. So many parents would benefit from reading this book, using the worksheets, and keeping it on hand for continued reference over the years."—Ginger and Frank D., parents

"Too often, people with schizophrenia fall between the cracks of our system of care. This compassionate and comprehensive guide shows how you can strengthen your relationship with your ill family member and help him or her navigate the recovery journey. The authors provide state-of-the-art tools for mastering the extraordinary challenges that schizophrenia poses."—Ken Duckworth, MD, Medical Director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Concerned family members often ask me what they can do to help their loved one who is being treated for schizophrenia. For practical answers to this and many other questions, I will certainly recommend this clearly written, uplifting, and optimistic guide."—David G. Kingdon, MD, University of Southampton School of Medicine, UK

"Informative, authoritative, and comprehensive. This detailed guide to understanding and helping someone with schizophrenia dispels common myths and gives very practical advice for a wide range of common problems that family members encounter. It should be given to every family dealing with the diagnosis of a relative. I wish this wonderful book had been available when my brother first became ill."—Xavier Amador, PhD, author of I am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help!

From the Publisher