Mad Tales of a Schizophrenic

How does one recover from the oftentimes devastating and debilitating mental illness known as schizophrenia? Robert Francis has lived with schizophrenia since his first diagnosis in 1995. Over this time, he has taken antipsychotic medication uninterrupted. Despite schizophrenia, Robert has worked as a mental health talk-therapist (a Licensed Clinical Social Worker- aka LCSW) since 2006 and he currently practices in a nursing home. In many ways, Robert believes his diagnosis has bettered his capacity as a clinical social worker. Robert details his history with his recurring episodic psychoses. Robert has experienced the full spectrum of schizophrenia symptoms including delusions, auditory hallucinations, and associated mood disturbances mixed with a sense of humor. Despite Robert's ongoing symptomatology, over the course of two decades plus, Robert has persisted in vocation and in a gainful sort of psychiatric recovery. Robert portrays his psychotic experiences as a common template so others too can acquire the skills, self-confidence, and persistent hope in their ability to recover and live gainfully. Both are an experiential perspective alongside a professional clinical perspective. With these dual perspectives, a comprehensive thread is sown and schizophrenia is understood both first-person and clinically. This combination lends to a fuller appreciation of schizophrenia germane. Join Robert in his episodic regales as what he hopes can be the shortcut to the recovery efforts of others.