If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia An Essential Resource for Parents

Schizophrenia is a disease that afflicts some 2.2 million persons of all ages. It has a wide-ranging impact on the lives of not just the people who have it, but also the people who love them. In an era of de-institutionalization and managed care, parents and other adults, such as teachers andcoaches, will become the first line of defense against this serious disease that attacks people in their the late teens or early twenties. If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia is an informative guide, written specifically to help adults spot the warning signs and seek appropriate treatment for theyoung people in their lives. Parents will find a clear definition of the disease, including early indicators of the disease as well as information on how to arrange for the proper diagnosis and treatment. Using the experiences of parents with children who have the illness themselves, this book willprovide an insiders survival guide for those now facing this illness in their own children. While enormous strides have been made toward identifying likely causes and effective remedies of schizophrenia in recent decades, no one therapeutic regimen works perfectly in all cases. If Your AdolescentHas Schizophrenia will offer readers trusted information and support that will enable them to confront this disorder head on and get their children meaningful medical and psychosocial help in order to mitigate its effects.

Raquel E. Gur, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she has acted as Director of the Neuropsychiatry section and the Schizophrenia Research Center. Ann Braden Johnson, Ph.D., is a freelance medical writer and a psychotherapist by training.