1 - 2%
of people are affected by schizophrenia
20 years
average reduced life expectancy for those with the condition
£5.1 million
is spent on research into schizophrenia each year in the UK
Related Conditions:
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health condition, often starting in late adolescence. People often experience psychosis meaning that they lose some contact with reality.
Schizophrenia affects how a person behaves, thinks, and feels. The lost sense of reality can cause significant distress for individuals and their loved ones.
"Schizophrenia can be devastating - but through research we can provide better and more effective treatments."
Joshua Roffman
Symptoms of schizophrenia are classified into positive symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive difficulties.
Positive symptoms are any experiences that are added to reality, these include psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking.
People with schizophrenia may experience things that don’t exist. For example, they may hear, see, smell or sense things that no one else can. People with schizophrenia commonly experience auditory hallucinations, they tend to hear voices in their head, sometimes commenting on their actions or commanding them to do something.
A person with schizophrenia may have strong beliefs based on mistaken and unrealistic views. This is known as a delusion. Delusions can affect the way a person behaves in front of people. Examples of delusions include thinking people are following them, that people are out to get them or kill them, or that their food or water is being poisoned.
Schizophrenia affects a person’s cognitive thinking. For example, they might start talking quickly or slowly, switch topics, or their words may be jumbled. This makes it hard for others to make sense of what is happening and it may be difficult to hold conversations.
Negative symptoms are any experiences that are taken away from reality. Some signs include:
People with schizophrenia may lose interest in activities such as hobbies or they may have a reduced sexual drive.
Social withdrawal - people with schizophrenia can appear to lose interest in social interactions with people around them and appear emotionless.
People with schizophrenia may find it harder to concentrate, process information, and make decisions. They may have trouble keeping to a schedule or completing what they have started.
People with schizophrenia may stop caring about their hygiene and stop bathing. They may struggle with their sleep and often change their sleeping patterns.
The causes of schizophrenia are thought to be related to a combination of genetic and environmental factors which interact to affect the way the brain develops.
If there is a close relative who has schizophrenia, there is an increased likelihood of developing the disorder. There are many genetic risk factors for schizophrenia but each one only increases their chance of developing the condition by a small amount.
Schizophrenia is now considered a neurodevelopmental disorder meaning that the connections of brain networks are different between some parts of the brain. Some genetic risk factors can affect neurodevelopment.
These can include exposure to viral infections in the womb, to adverse life events in childhood, living in an urban area, and drug misuse.
Treatment is best guided by a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions. Currently, there is an emphasis on early interventions to improve outcomes for those living with this condition.
Antipsychotic medication: This medication reduces the frequency and intensity of psychotic symptoms (positive symptoms of hallucinations and delusions) and helps people live with their condition. These medications include risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, sulpiride and clozapine.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapies
A range of CBT therapies is available to help people manage the condition and the resulting cognitive difficulties.
Arts Therapies
Art therapies such as art, music, dance, or drama therapies allow people with schizophrenia to express their experiences in a non-verbal way, which can help them recognise thoughts and reduce symptoms.
CMHT - Communal Mental Health Teams
CMHT supports people with schizophrenia with their day-to-day tasks whilst ensuring independence. These teams consist of psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses and social and support workers who provide treatment and support from the first experience of schizophrenia.
Care Programme Approach
As everyone experiences things differently, this program is designed to ensure that treatment is personalised. Through assessments, care plans, key workers appointed and review, people with this condition will work together with their healthcare team and develop care plans such as crisis plans.
Crisis Resolution Teams
CRTs treat people who are currently experiencing a psychiatric crisis. CRTs usually treat people in their home as it is the least restrictive environment. After treating the crisis, they also form an aftercare plan to reduce or prevent further crises.
Voluntary and compulsory detention
A psychiatrist or someone experienced with treating psychoses may believe that it is necessary for a person to be admitted to a psychiatric ward at a hospital or clinic if they are having serious schizophrenic episodes.
Family Education and Support
Family therapy involves talking about schizophrenia, discovering ways to support a family member with schizophrenia, and how to help them with practical problems. Family education provides this knowledge and helps a family cope.
Information and advice can help people gain a better understanding of Schizophrenia. Understanding the disorder will ensure informed decisions can be made of where to get help or treatments to use.
Support groups help them cope with the disorder and get access to professional treatment and people who are experiencing the same conditions.
Genetic Risk and Interaction between epilepsy and psychiatric conditions
Dr Symon Kariuki is looking at genetic information with the aim to discover genetic risk factors associated with these conditions, in the hope of understanding more about how they develop as well as a potential treatment for these conditions. Find out more.
Identifying cellular mechanisms of disease and novel therapeutic targets in neurons derived from patients with schizophrenia
Dr Sergiu Pasca and his team are creating 3D cell cultures to create cells that more closely mimic natural tissues than cells which grow in traditional flat petri dishes. As a result, Sergiu and his team can now answer fundamental questions about the formation of the cerebral cortex, and the outer layer of the brain responsible for our most advanced functions, which are linked to schizophrenia. Find out more.
Genetic and genomic drivers of network phenotypes in health and disease
Dr Petra Vertes and her team at the University of Cambridge are looking at genetic data and brain scans to discover biological processes responsible for psychosis. By brain scanning healthy volunteers, people who have experienced psychosis, and groups that are at risk, Petra’s study hopes to provide the basis to create better treatments that target vital networks in the brain to improve the lives of people who have schizophrenia. Find out more.
Virtual Reality as a method of delivering social cognitive therapy in psychosis
Associate Professor Andrew Thompson will work with virtual reality experts and people with mental health problems to create a training package that helps people to feel more comfortable in social situations, and then recreate them. This project will investigate whether virtual worlds can be immersive and realistic enough to deliver effective therapy. Find out more.
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