Schizophrenia Reframed: Is It Time for a New Name? (Ep. 138)

For families and those living with Schizophrenia, words matter. Today, we look at what’s behind the diagnosis, why experts are rethinking it as a neurodevelopmental syndrome—and whether changing the name could change lives. 

This podcast episode focused on rethinking and potentially renaming schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental syndrome. 

Dr. Matcheri Keshavan (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)

 and Dr. Raquelle Mesholam-Gately (Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Co-Director, Recovery in Shared Experiences (RISE) Early Psychosis Program, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA.)

 discussed their research on renaming schizophrenia, with the most popular suggestion being "Altered Perception Syndrome" based on their survey of 1,200 respondents. 

They explained that schizophrenia may be better understood as a spectrum of disorders rather than one condition, with evidence showing developmental brain abnormalities including excessive synaptic pruning in adolescence. 

The experts described how a name change could help reduce stigma, enable earlier detection through biomarkers, and lead to more personalized treatment approaches. They also discussed the historical context of the current name's origins and shared that similar name changes for other conditions like bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorder have shown positive results in reducing stigma and improving care.

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Links: 

Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance : https://sczaction.org/

Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/

Randye and her book: https://randyekaye.com/

Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/