Matthew M. Kurtz – författare

This volume aims to explain why, despite profound advances in psychological science and neuroscientific analyses of schizophrenia, outcomes for the disorder have changed little over the past 100 years. More specifically, the book provides a critical analysis of the limiting role on treatment development of diagnostic classifications and views of the disorder as caused by a core pathology, and instead promotes the idea of individually tailored, multimodal treatment for distinct disorder features (e.g., positive symptoms, cognitive deficits). Each of these features of schizophrenia may or may not be present in different individuals with the same diagnosis. These features may also bear little functional relationship to one another. This aim is achieved through a critical integration of contemporary psychological scientific and neuroscientific analyses of schizophrenia, as well as research on psychological and somatic treatments. Historical perspectives on diagnosis and treatment are considered as well.

Clinical Neuropsychological Foundations of Schizophrenia is the first practitioner-oriented source of information on the neuropsychology of schizophrenia. This volume demonstrates the growth in what is known about cognition in schizophrenia, its assessment, and how this informs clinical practice.It provides the practicing clinical neuropsychologist, and other professionals working with persons with schizophrenia, with the knowledge and tools they need to provide competent professional neuropsychological services. It includes an overview of developmental models of schizophrenia and its associated neuropathologies, so that the clinician can fully understand how vulnerability and progression of the disorder influence brain development and functioning, and how cognition and functioning are associated with these changes. In addition, the volume covers contemporary evidence-based assessment and interventions, including cognitive remediation and other cognitive oriented interventions. Throughout, the research findings are synthesized to make them clinically relevant to clinical neuropsychologists working in outpatient or inpatient psychiatric settings.The book is an invaluable resource for practicing professional neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and neuropsychiatrists, as well as graduate students of these disciplines, interns, and postdoctoral residents and fellows who work with schizophrenic patients.