Young schizophrenic at her mind's mercy

To read the story, go to http://tinyurl.com/msvvgm
January Schofield has schizophrenia. Potent psychiatric drugs in doses that would stagger most adults seem to skip off her. She is among the rarest of the rare: a child seemingly born mentally ill.

Thoughts on the Link Between Mental Illness and Creativity: Case Study Being Vincent van Gogh By Christine Stapleton

I love van Gogh – not just his paintings and drawings. I love his letters - hundreds and hundreds of letters in which he shares the minutia of his life – from impotence to absinthe. Gossip, advice, critique, paints, colors, hues, canvas, food, weather, God and his mental illness(es). Because the letters are dated it is possible to match a painting to a letter and hear van Gogh describe how he felt when he painted it – his state of mind and health. It as if van Gogh is the docent at his own exhibit.

        Vincent van Gogh self portrait via public domain library    

Click anywhere in this sentence to continue reading...

via:  Psyche Central

                   

When Trauma and Psychosis Mix: A Cognitive Therapy Approach to Treatment and Recovery

When people in the US are diagnosed with "schizophrenia" or another "psychotic disorder" they are typically told that the problem is simply something gone wrong with their brain, and that it has nothing to do with what anyone did to them or with any decision they made. Yet a great deal of scientific evidence indicates the opposite: that trauma, and decisions to react to trauma in specific ways, are often key causes of later psychosis. In this video, Ron Unger LCSW describes some of the relationships between psychosis and trauma and the critical importance of addressing this relationship in mental health treatment. 

Dr. Tracey Skale of Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Speaks About Her Work With People With Schizophrenia.

New Frontiers in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Research

In contrast to cardiovascular disease, few breakthrough remedies for psychiatric illness have emerged in the past half century. Edward Scolnick lays blame for this dismal situation on barriers to understanding the genetic basis behind such illnesses. But the research drought may be over, as the current revolution in human genetics opens wide a door into the molecular biology and brain physiology behind diseases like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

It's a Brain Thing: Psychosis/ Psychotic Disorders

What is psychosis? Who can get psychotic? What are the major psychotic illnesses? Dr. Henley continues his seminar on the brain and its various illnesses with a discussion of psychosis and psychotic disorders.