Phase-Specific Recovery from Schizophrenia

pacity for independent living, individuals with schizophrenia need continued treatment with maintenance medication and psychosocial services for equipping them with coping skills and resilience to buffer the omnipresent noxious effects of stressors and neurodevelopmental vulnerability. With functional and symptomatic improvement, individuals begin to experience the personal qualities that are concomitants of recovery: empowerment; hope for the future; selfesteem and self-efficacy; responsibil ity for oneself; and dignity. The keys to demonstrably effective and normalizing psychosocial interventions are teaching relevant skills and providing collaborative supports that can override the cognitive and symptomatic impairments of schizophrenia. Both pharmacotherapy and psychosocial treatments must be linked to an individual’s phase of illness.