We know that there are a group of people who self-report complete recovery from schizophrenia or psychosis and many of them have been off prescribed medication for a number of years. We know this from the Hope in Mental Health Care Survey, organized in 2012 by MindFreedom International (summary here). Of the respondents reporting diagnoses of psychosis or schizophrenia (n=145), and quoting from the survey:
• 61% were told by a mental health provider that recovery was impossible. However, 95% said that they had “experienced at least some recovery from a mental or emotional problem,” and 69% ranked themselves as “recovered” or “fully recovered” (equivalent to a ranking of 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point recovery scale).
• 86% who have taken a prescribed psychiatric medication (n=137) were told by a mental health provider that they would have to take medication for the rest of their lives.
• However, 48% of respondents with diagnoses of psychosis or schizophrenia are currently not taking prescribed psychiatric medications, and 57% of them (n=65) have been off medications for 5 years or more.
• 72% of respondents diagnosed with schizophrenia or psychosis and not taking medication ranked themselves as “recovered” or “fully recovered” on a 10-point recovery scale.
(Emphasis added).
It is not entirely clear of the exact number but it would seem that there are a group of people (n=A) who:
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were diagnosed with psychosis or schizophrenia
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were prescribed medication
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took that medication for a time
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withdrew from that medication
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have been off medication for 5 years or more
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rank themselves as "fully recovered" on a 10-point scale.
Philip Hickey writes:
"At the present time [November 2013] (with the exception of the due-to-a-general-medical-condition category and some of the substance abuse categories), no DSM “diagnosis” has been definitively linked to an identifiable biological illness or malfunction. No psychiatric drug in current use fixes or resolves any biological malfunction, and there is growing evidence that the drugs are doing a great deal of harm."
(emphasis in text).
The Allen Frances -- Lucy Johnstone debate
Philip Hickey, Ph.D. November 1 2013.
and the Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry (UK) writes (March 2014):
"There are no known biological causes for any of the psychiatric disorders apart from dementia and some rare chromosomal disorders."
What then would happen if a medical doctor (the better respected the better) interviewed the A group and put them through an initial diagnostic screen for psychosis or schizophrenia (as appropriate) and concluded they were showing no symptoms? Then within the current system of psychiatry we would have a group of people (n=A) who:
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were diagnosed with psychosis or schizophrenia (it would be important to have this diagnosis documented, preferably by a standardized evaluation tool)
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were prescribed medication
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took that medication for a time
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withdrew from that medication
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have been off medication for 5 years or more
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rank themselves as "fully recovered" on a 10-point scale.
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were then examined by a medical doctor
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who pronounced them symptom free at that time
Would that not mean these people were fully recovered as defined by the medical system? If so that would be a major step forward in reducing the stigma of these "mental illnesses." It would turn them into something that can be cured (because there's no underlying biological illness or malfunction to give any credence to the idea that the illness can be in "remission").
The discussion around the usefulness or validity of diagnoses at all is a separate discussion. Part of the challenge right now is that there is a system in place which gives out "for life" labels. This particular piece seeks to address that issue.
The key element of this proposal is the finding of the medical doctor willing to be involved in the process. (Self-reports of recovery are, unfortunately, discounted by certain members of the medical community.) If, for example, a senior psychiatrist was willing to be that medical doctor then a situation would arise in which a senior psychiatrist would have declared cured people diagnosed by other psychiatrists as having schizophrenia. It is likely this would cause some debate.
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"Stay Strong Because Recovery Is Possible."
updated June 2014, including accounting for comments to date.