Huffington Post had a good article by Lloyd I. Sederer, MD about making a difference with schizophrenia by refusing to accept the way things are.

He echoes my sentiment that individuals diagnosed with this illness can go to school or get a job when we have effective treatments and social supports.

Some of his criteria for this:

“Insist on goals for patients, families and clinicians. Develop goals with those whose lives are at stake, namely patients and families.”

“Find and recruit people, centers, groups who will pursue implementation way beyond being ‘champions.’ The degree of difficulty and vested interests in the status quo calls for (reasonable) zealots to succeed.”

Lastly:

“Skill building in social and work areas, combined with cognitive techniques to manage paranoia, combined with medications, combined with family education and support, combined with outreach to help people stay engaged are more effective than any one approach alone.”

I have long not been a fan of the status quo in mental health treatment and that starts with the lack of effective treatment given as soon as the person needs to get it.

I’ve kept different incarnations of this blog going on nine years now. In 2007 I won an award as having one of the Top 5 Schizophrenia Blogs. I’ve been a Health Guide at the HealthCentral schizophrenia website going on 10 years now.

In all of these roles I have long spoken out against the status quo and asked readers to imagine that a better life is possible.

I have written news articles at HealthCentral about recovery strategies and interviewed individuals diagnosed with this illness. I have written about breaking news in the field.

And I agree with Lloyd I. Sederer’s contention about combining more than one effective type of treatment to obtain the best results.

Making a Difference with Schizophrenia is well worth the read. I’d be interested in hearing what readers think of this article.