Person-Centered Psychopathology of Schizophrenia: Building on Karl Jaspers' Understanding of Patient's Attitude Toward His Illness

TY - JOUR

T1 - Person-Centered Psychopathology of Schizophrenia

T2 - Building on Karl Jaspers' Understanding of Patient's Attitude Toward His Illness

AU - Stanghellini, Giovanni

AU - Bolton, Derek

AU - Fulford, William K. M.

PY - 2013/3

Y1 - 2013/3

N2 - In this article, building on and extending Jaspers' concept of the "patient's attitude toward his illness" we draw attention to the active role that the person, as a self-interpreting agent engaged in a world shared with other persons, has in interacting with his/her basic disorder and in the shaping of psychopathological syndromes. This person-centered approach helps us to see patients as meaning-making entities rather than passive individuals and their attempt at self-understanding as not necessarily pathological and potentially adaptive. We describe 3 contemporary resources for a person-centered psychopathology: dialectical psychopathology, contemporary approaches to the meanings-causes debate, and value-based practice. Each of these provides a theoretical framework and practical resources for understanding the diversity of schizophrenic phenotypes, including symptom presentation, course, and outcome as a consequence of the different ways people with schizophrenia seek to make sense of the basic changes in self and world experiences. A person-centered approach, in building on patients' individual values and experiences as key aspects of their self-understanding of their psychosis, supports recovery and development of self-management skills.

AB - In this article, building on and extending Jaspers' concept of the "patient's attitude toward his illness" we draw attention to the active role that the person, as a self-interpreting agent engaged in a world shared with other persons, has in interacting with his/her basic disorder and in the shaping of psychopathological syndromes. This person-centered approach helps us to see patients as meaning-making entities rather than passive individuals and their attempt at self-understanding as not necessarily pathological and potentially adaptive. We describe 3 contemporary resources for a person-centered psychopathology: dialectical psychopathology, contemporary approaches to the meanings-causes debate, and value-based practice. Each of these provides a theoretical framework and practical resources for understanding the diversity of schizophrenic phenotypes, including symptom presentation, course, and outcome as a consequence of the different ways people with schizophrenia seek to make sense of the basic changes in self and world experiences. A person-centered approach, in building on patients' individual values and experiences as key aspects of their self-understanding of their psychosis, supports recovery and development of self-management skills.

KW - Jaspers

KW - person-centered psychopathology

KW - schizophrenia

KW - self-management

KW - service user empowerment

KW - value-based practice

KW - DYNAMIC PSYCHIATRY

KW - VULNERABILITY

U2 - 10.1093/schbul/sbs154

DO - 10.1093/schbul/sbs154

M3 - Article

SN - 0586-7614

VL - 39

SP - 287

EP - 294

JO - Schizophrenia Bulletin

JF - Schizophrenia Bulletin

IS - 2

M1 - N/A

ER -