Schizophrenia means being different from others and learning to live with a special relationship to the world. The suffering that results from this divergence can be unbearable and usually expresses itself either in complete withdrawal or in violence. Thus schizophrenia causes great suffering both to patients and to their loved ones. What are the most effective forms of treatment available today? What can be expected of doctors, psychiatrists and public health authorities? How should life be faced on a day-to-day basis? In an attempt to answer these questions, Catherine Tobin has interviewed patients, their families, medical specialists, and health-care institutions. Catherine Tobin is a journalist specialising in health issues.