Kam-shing Yip
Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Series: Mental Illnesses and Treatments
BISAC: PSY022050

Many clinicians know that one should embrace a humanistic, empathic and holistic view on persons with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, some may think such an orientation is not effective in clinical practice. Some may not possess enough training, confidence and practice competence in acknowledging clients needs, feelings and subjective experiences behind pathological symptoms. They may feel insecure in facing clients’ confused hallucinations and delusions. They may be over-involved in neuro-cognitive perspective or simply apply one type of therapy modality to clients with different needs, background and cultural contexts. Based on the writer’s years of clinical experience as well as supervising professional workers in rehabilitating persons with schizophrenia, he attempts to share his humanistic and empathic practice with the readers. The layout of this book coincides with different dimensions of a holistic person. It starts with a strength perspective on a holistic person. Then it is followed by the emphases of subjective experiences, meaningfulness of life, self consciousness, humanistic coping and cultural aspects in clinical practice with persons with schizophrenia. The second chapter of this book is a narration about the therapeutic power of the strengths perspective in helping a female Chinese person with schizophrenia. The writer helped her and her parents to recognize and know how to regain the normal and humane side behind symptomatic delusion and hallucinations. In Chapter three, the writer demonstrates the importance of understanding personal subjective experience in establishing a good rapport and building up empathic communication with a man with schizophrenia. Chapter four is a full description of how persons with schizophrenia making meaningfulness of life and spirituality in their process of recovery. Chapter five describes the importance of respect of clients’ self consciousness in the process of clinical treatment and rehabilitation. In Chapter six, the writer affirms the need of interpersonal relationship and intimacy crises for persons with schizophrenia. Chapter seven is a narration how persons with schizophrenia struggled hard in the process of recovery. Chapter eight is a critique of institutionalized clinical practice. The writer described how an institutionalized young man with schizophrenia was humanized to regain his trust and confidence in living a normal life. The writer critically evaluated that professional interventions, if being done in an inappropriate orientation, can be a burden rather a help for persons with schizophrenia in the process of recovery. Chapter nine is a critique of de-culturalization in diagnosis, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of persons with schizophrenia. The writer asserts the importance of cultural articulation in clinical practice for persons with schizophrenia. Chapter ten is the concluding remarks of the humanistic and empathic articulation in this book. (Imprint: Nova)