Recovery from Schizophrenia

As a psychiatrist, I have dedicated my entire professional life to accompany people diagnosed with schizophrenia, encouraging them to become the leaders of their recovery process, always trying to find new ways to recover their own self through what we call Accompanied Self-rehabilitation. For us nothing would have been possible without the ideas, the energy, and the accompaniment we received from Professor Courtenay Harding. Anyone who studies this book carefully will understand why. * Alberto Fergusson, Full Professor and Director of the Center for Psychosocial Studies, Rosario University Bogota Colombia * Harding's book leads us on a heartwarming journey into recovery from schizophrenia, once thought to always deteriorate, infused with the author's empathic heart and scientific mind. It shares stories of resilience and overcoming challenges, providing new hope. This book reshapes our understanding of psychiatric rehabilitation, offering fresh perspectives on what is possible in mental health care. A must-read for anyone touched by mental illness, crafted with compassion and dedication. * Su-Ting Hsu Director, Department of Community Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan * Harding is first and foremost a storyteller and this illuminating volume contains many such compelling stories. First and foremost are the stories of persons experiencing serious mental illnesses over the previous two centuries, going through a variety of circumstances, treatments, and their own efforts to gain recovery. Secondarily is the recovery of the field of psychiatry, which has led to the current climate in which we have come to accept nothing less. * Larry Davidson, Professor of Psychiatry and Director, Program for Recovery and Community Health School of Medicine, Yale University * Dr. Harding tells the story of a lifetime of research that demonstrates that persons living with the most severe mental illnesses can and do recover. Along with other long-term outcome studies, her research has helped produce a revolution in global imagining of mental health services based in genuine hope for recovery and humane care for persons whose lives have been shattered by psychosis. A profound contribution to mental health scholarship and activism! * Byron Good, Harvard Medical School *