Case Studies of Schizophrenia (anti-psych)

In the introduction to Foucault's "History of Madness", one can read that psychiatrists and our culture more generally aren't interested in the subjective experiences of schizophrenics. They are only interested in communication with schizophrenics to the extent required for diagnosis and monitoring (in the case of psychiatrists), or dismissing them as mentally ill (everyone else). If this were not so, there would be many, many detailed case studies written, collected and analysed by experts easily available. Yet there doesn't seem to be anything much. I can't find traces of any actual published books collecting such case studies, apart from one short exception from 1997, and even in that case I don't know whether it includes truly detailed studies (even ones that focus mainly on a single year of life). There is a website or two that claims there are basically tons of case studies of schizophrenia and that they are easy to find by googling, but I, for one, can't find anything substantial by googling.

There must be some remnants of psychoanalysis, some contemporary psychoanalysts and older psychoanalytic literature, that have created and contain in-depth case studies, but if there are, I haven't found any.

I have also personally noticed that my psychiatrist isn't interested in the details of my illness beyond monitoring my health in a very general way (am I sleeping well? have I hallucinated recently? etc.). If my experiences are anything to go by, details aren't being collected. This in spite of there being ample time for such collection (at least in my case, and probably in my country more generally). It's only the will that is lacking.

I can find dozens of books on schizophrenia telling me what I should think about schizophrenia, what it means, and what its symptoms are or can be in a general vague sense (e.g. "delusions of control", which sounds pathetically inadequate to anyone who has experienced that stuff extensively). I can find books about what I should think regarding the possible causes of schizophrenia. I can find books exploring the possible connection between schizophrenia and neurology, schizophrenia as a social construct, the treatment of schizophrenia by using mass doses of vitamins.... But I find very, very little in terms of substantial case studies. Freud has one in one of his books, I forget which, and even then only because the schizophrenic had written an autobiography about his experiences. Funny, eh?

I have a hypothesis that if case studies were widely done and published, the picture of schizophrenia that would emerge would puzzle the experts to the verge of madness. It would probably crush the chemical imbalance myth in about five seconds as woefully inadequate in the face of a mystery that most parapsychologists would find to be more fertile ground for ghost hunting than haunted mansions.

So, can anyone prove me wrong by pointing me to some deep, authoritative collection of case studies that I have somehow missed? Or a number of books that could together be thought to constitute such a work?

There was an autobiography of a recovered schizophrenic mentioned in one of my psych classes, but I don't know the title. It is old, and I believe from the psychoanalytic era, when people were actually paying more attention to recovery, instead of sweeping it under the carpet.

I see your point though. There really should be a large collation of "content". But such a collation would be moving beyond the organic disease model, at minimum dipping its toes into a subconcious psychic conflict or functional view of mental illness, and as such be beyond the mindset of most modern researchers.

It would be very interesting, as a meta-study database, if such a thing existed, because one could provide links/connections to other forms of phenomena, outside of mental illness. It would probably help us as a great society understand mind better.

Let us know if you find any interesting detailled accounts of bi-polar or schizophrenia out there.

Actually any interesting idea- if anyone ever had a bunch of money to maintain a website/server, would be to provide an anonymous experience logging database for people with "mental illness" experiences, spiritual experiences, OBEs, NDEs, paranormal experiences etc (ie something that captures the extremes/depths of normal conciousness). It would preferably be model agnostic of course (ie not suggesting organic disease, functional disease, spiritual emergence, brain-mind, or any particular model of the phenomena). Like "erowid" but for entirely "natural" experiences/phenomena. It could be used to catergorise the breadth of human concious phenomena.

Mind you, it would need money, donations, and lots of time and energy spent. But its an interesting notion.

Recovered45 wrote:Actually any interesting idea- if anyone ever had a bunch of money to maintain a website/server, would be to provide an anonymous experience logging database for people with "mental illness" experiences, spiritual experiences, OBEs, NDEs, paranormal experiences etc (ie something that captures the extremes/depths of normal conciousness). It would preferably be model agnostic of course (ie not suggesting organic disease, functional disease, spiritual emergence, brain-mind, or any particular model of the phenomena). Like "erowid" but for entirely "natural" experiences/phenomena. It could be used to catergorise the breadth of human concious phenomena.

Have you looked at http://www.experienceproject.com ?

It's much as you describe (For all types of experience, not just mental illnesses).

Recovered45 wrote:Mind you, it would need money, donations, and lots of time and energy spent. But its an interesting notion.

To constitute serious research, it would also require identity authentication and checking of sources — actually being able to access patient databases around the world or travelling to interview patients and their relatives and/or psychiatrists.

An interesting tidbit from psychotherapist Adam Crabtree's autobio:

"...I broadened my view of what is and is not possible for the human psyche, pursuing a study of the eccentric, the anomalous and the paranormal — including experiences of past life memories. This resulted in my receiving referrals from colleagues who were baffled or even frightened by the symptoms they encountered in some of their clients. It also meant that I experienced certain difficulties in finding a comfortable place in the ranks of my professional coworkers."

So psychotherapists do encounter baffling "symptoms" (of course). From personal experience, I'd say that psychiatrists (as contrasted with psychotherapists) aren't interested in such stuff and tend to avoid or ignore dealing with it unless they think it's indicative of acute psychosis, in which case — (more) drugs.

Someone needs to take a real good look back in history for Schizophrenia case studies, like in this study on sleep, here is a quote.

In the early 1990s, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr conducted an experiment in which a group of people were plunged into darkness for 14 hours every day for a month.

It took some time for their sleep to regulate but by the fourth week the subjects had settled into a very distinct sleeping pattern. They slept first for four hours, then woke for one or two hours before falling into a second four-hour sleep.

Though sleep scientists were impressed by the study, among the general public the idea that we must sleep for eight consecutive hours persists.

Margaret Thatcher was famously said to get by on four hours sleep a night
That put her in a group of just 1% of the population
Can we really get by on four hours of sleep?

In 2001, historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a seminal paper, drawn from 16 years of research, revealing a wealth of historical evidence that humans used to sleep in two distinct chunks.

His book At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, published four years later, unearths more than 500 references to a segmented sleeping pattern - in diaries, court records, medical books and literature, from Homer's Odyssey to an anthropological account of modern tribes in Nigeria.

To read more go here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783

charter wrote:Have you looked at http://www.experienceproject.com ?

It's much as you describe (For all types of experience, not just mental illnesses).

I hadn't really, so thats interesting to look at. It's not quite as detailed, focused, formal as I had in mind for "phenomena" and experiences, more of a "story format", but its interesting all the same.

To constitute serious research, it would also require identity authentication and checking of sources — actually being able to access patient databases around the world or travelling to interview patients and their relatives and/or psychiatrists.

Well probably true, although a good databse might still help, specially if it could be directly accessed. But ideally actual case studies would be better - if they existed.

Jani Schofield 7 year old Schizophrenia Girl - Oprah 20/20 .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT041QhTPSk

have you heard of the hearing voices network? I know it's not the case studies and journal articles that you are looking for, but it does provide a more person centered view of people who hear voices or experience other types of phenomena that others don't. I find it to be more helpful than the medical model of "you hear voices-that's bad, have some medication" type of view.
http://www.hearing-voices.org/

any psyhchiatrists that actually look into what is going on for psychotics are more optimistic then freudian that would just lump them with a label and force drugs.

look up all the books of John Weir Perry I used to know the titles but forgotton one inparticular was case studies of recoverring psychosis. One of his book is devoted to case studies, if you;'re interested I try to look it up again. he has about 5?books the one I have far side of madness does a bit of case studies in it to explain something I must read again, to me it seemed he wrote this book when he was discovering his own undertanding of what psychosis is all about. john weir perry is a jungian psychotherapist

There is ample case studies in Paris Williams Rethinking Madness but I think he draws out a paradigme for thinking about psychosis that I find doesn't really tell me much about psychosis,.

they take more interest, if you look into books by R.D. Laing also might find more case studies but maybe not so much, he at least took interest in psychosis.


I think most clinicians use their own experience as case studies but think they be way biased and reliant on the pharma image of mental illness to ridicule someone who thought they had a goood prognosis.

I wish jung did more stuff with psychosis or a text devoted to it, I hear quotes but never really know the source. seems jung talks about it by talking about normal.