Models of Psychosis and the Limitations of Psychiatric Knowledge

In this paper, the medical discourse on the constructs of “psychosis” and “schizophrenia” is challenged by a literature review of contradictory evidence, alternative theories, phenomenological explorations of psychosis, and perspectives of people who have experienced psychosis. One purpose is to expose the violence that occurs in constructing madness as an illness and “treating” it through pharmacology, while another is to deconstruct the binary of “sane” versus “insane” by examining the social and existential factors that may contribute to the development of psychosis. Implications for social work practice are discussed.