Deconstructing the concept of ‘schizophrenia’

Abstract

In this article I challenge two assumptions that inform much of traditional research into psychosis: the assumption that psychotic disorders fall into discrete types such as schizophrenia and the assumption that psychotic experiences and behaviour have no meaning. Illustrating my argument with recent research on hallucinations and delusions carried out at Liverpool University I show how scientific progress can be made by abandoning the concept of schizophrenia and focusing on particular symptoms. In addition to the scientific advantages of this approach, it has the further advantage of linking the experiences of mentally ill people to the experiences of ordinary people.