Making Sense of Madness Contesting the Meaning of Schizophrenia [Hardcover]

The experience of madness  which might also be referred to more formally as schizophrenia or psychosis  consists of a complex, confusing and often distressing collection of experiences, such as hearing voices or developing unusual, seemingly unfounded beliefs. Madness, in its various forms and guises, seems to be a ubiquitous feature of being human, yet our ability to make sense of madness, and our knowledge of how to help those who are so troubled, is limited.

Making Sense of Madnessexplores the subjective experiences of madness. Using clients' stories and verbatim descriptions, it argues that the experience of 'madness' is an integral part of what it is to be human, and that greater focus on subjective experiences can contribute to professional understandings and ways of helping those who might be troubled by these experiences.

Areas of discussion include:

• how people who experience psychosis make sense of it themselves
• scientific/professional understandings of madness'
• what the public thinks about schizophrenia 

Making Sense of Madnesswill be essential reading for all mental health professionals as well as being of great interest to people who experience psychosis and their families and friends.

Introduction. The Subjective Experience of Madness. Making Sense of Madness I: Subjective Experience. Making Sense of Madness II: Lay Understandings. What Does the Public Think About Schizophrenia? Making Sense of Madness III: Scientific/Professional Understandings of Madness. Bringing it all Together. What Schizophrenia Really Is. Where to From Here?

Jim Geekie and John Read have written a fascinating book about what psychiatrists call 'schizophrenia'. They address the usually ignored issue of holCØ