The Environment of Schizophrenia: Innovations in Practice, Policy and Communication

From our regular book review column.

In the vulnerability-stress model of schizophrenia, it is presumed that socioenvironmental stressors, superimposed on an underlying and enduring biological vulnerability, lead to abnormalities in central nervous system function. There is now ample evidence suggesting that the biological vulnerability is genetically mediated and that the environmental factors affect the occurrence and course of schizophrenia. In his most recent book The Environment of Schizophrenia: Innovations in Practice, Policy and Communication, Richard Warner, M.D., draws on current knowledge of the environmental factors that affect schizophrenia to suggest changes that could decrease the occurrence of the illness, improve its course, and enhance the quality of life for sufferers and their relatives.