Theories of Schizophrenia, Mrs. Parry continued

The reason we try to categorize and diagnose people with mental disorders and illnesses isn't for shits and giggles of the APA (American Psychology Association). We do it so that we can better predict and understand behavior, so that we can better control and treat people with these disorders. There has been a lot of controversy recently about the nature of schizophrenia that the DSM IV-TR was supposed to resolve, but the authors ducked the issue.

There are four types of schizophrenia: catatonic, paranoid, disorganized, and undifferentiated, the latter being diagnosed when a schizophrenic does not fit any of the previous categories, or more than one. The issue of controversy is that two types of schizophrenia, catatonic and undifferentiated, can be helped with medication, and so seem to have a more chemobiological basis. However, paranoid and disorganized schizophrenics are not greatly aided by medication, and so treatment for these people is more psychologically and therapy based. The DSM IV-TR was supposed to clear up these issues, and most likely, catatonic and undifferentiated schizoprenia are going to be reclassified into another illness entirely, rather than that of schizophrenia. The DSM IV-TR, however, merely added a little blurb in the back of the manual under an NOS (not otherwise specified) heading, which admits that there is an issue, but does not in any way clear it up. Many APA members were infuriated when the DSM IV-TR did not address this problem, but ultimately it is for the better. Better to wait and be absolutely sure of the research and the treatments and the biology of the different types of schizophrenia, than to jump the gun and reclassify because that would hurt a lot of people and temper them getting better. The DSM V, however, is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2012, so perhaps by then we will have some clear answers.

Learn more about theories of schizophrenia or learn more about treatment of schizophrenia.

P.S. Even though the comic at the top was about multiple personalities, that is not a type of schizophrenia, as many people believe. It's not even called multiple personality disorder anymore, as the publication of the DSM IV reclassified it as Dissociative Identity Disorder. Like the reclassification of schizophrenia, this has greatly helped victims of the disorder to be better treated.