Debbie Ernest, Olga Vuksic, Ashley Shepard-Smith, Emily Webb
Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, behaves and relates to others. This guide is for people with schizophrenia, their families and friends, and anyone else interested in better understanding the illness and what it is like to experience it. The guide provides easy-to-read, up-to-date information about the symptoms, causes and treatment of schizophrenia. It includes chapters for family members on supporting the person with schizophrenia, taking care of themselves, and explaining the illness to children.
This valuable resource shows how, with treatment and support, people with schizophrenia can embrace a journey of recovery and lead meaningful lives.
This revised edition was fully rewritten in 2017.
About the authors
Debbie Ernest, MSW, RSW works at CAMH as an Advanced Practice Clinical Leader in the area of mental health and addiction. Debbie provides direct clinical services to clients with schizophrenia and their families, and also training, clinical supervision, and professional practice leadership and consultation to staff, teams and students. Debbie’s clinical interests include complex mental illness, trauma-informed care, CBT for psychosis and working with families of people with schizophrenia.
Olga Vuksic, RN, MScN is an Advanced Practice Clinical Leader (Nurse) at CAMH. Olga supports inpatient staff in the integration of best practice standards and advances in clinical practice and client-centered care. Olga is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto.
Ashley Shepard-Smith, MSW, RSW, currently manages a psychiatric unit at CAMH. She has also worked with a team to provide intensive case management and as a social worker. She is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto and a coach in preventing and managing aggressive behavior at CAMH.
Emily Webb, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.) is an occupational therapist with the Crisis Outreach and Response Team (COAST) at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, in partnership with Hamilton Police Services. Emily spent several years working in the Complex Mental Illness program at CAMH, primarily with people living with schizophrenia. Emily is a dedicated educator with status-faculty at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about outreach, empowerment and recovery-oriented care.