IntroductionAbout 22% of the American population suffers from some sort of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious mental disorders and there are many different types of treatment. Although all mental disorders pose problems in diagnosis and treatment, few pose more problems than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and confusing, and has been described as "one of the most difficult disorders to treat effectively." (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534) Schizophrenia is not yet fully understood, but it is known to be characterized by extreme disturbances in many vital areas, including behavior, emotions, speech, perception and thought. The term schizophrenia means "split mind," but it should be noted that this does not mean the person has dissociative identity disorder. Bleuler, who coined the term, simply meant that patients exhibited a division or disconnection in certain functions, such as emotion, language, or thought. (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534) The following definition of schizophrenia is proposed: Schizophrenia is a lifelong disabling psychiatric disorder that often begins in late adolescence or early adulthood. It is characterized by severe and variable symptoms, including positive and negative symptoms, cognitive deficits, and depressive symptoms. (Lublin, Eberhard and Levander, 2005, 183) The diagnosis of schizophrenia can be made when the patient shows that he “misinterprets reality and presents a disorder of attention, thought or perception”. (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534) Additionally, the person usually has delusions, which have been defined as follows: Delusions are false beliefs that are held in the face of evidence that is normally in the middle of a paper. ....research has certainly shown that it is less effective than drug therapy.BibliographyLublin, Henrik, Jonas Eberhard and Sten Levander. (2005). Current therapeutic issues and current clinical needs in the treatment of schizophrenia: a review of new generation antipsychotics. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 20: 183-198. Paley, Graham and David A. Shapiro. (2002). Lessons from psychotherapy research for psychological interventions for people with schizophrenia. Psychology and psychotherapy: theory, research and practice, 75: 5-17. Passer, Michael W. and Ronald E. Smith. (2004). Psychology: science of the mind and behavior. 2nd edition. New York: McGraw Hill. Patterson, Thomas L., Robert M. Kaplan, and Dilip V. Jeste. (1999). To measure the effect of treatment on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia. CNS Medications, 12(1): 49-64.