Doctors are usually very cautious about diagnosing someone with schizophrenia. Usually, they will carry out several different assessments over a period of weeks or months, to make certain you don't get diagnosed incorrectly. You'll see a specialist mental health doctor (a

 

 

 

 

 

psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in psychiatry, a branch of medicine that covers the science and practice of treating mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.

 

 

 

 

 

psychiatrist) before you are diagnosed.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Schizophrenia. Core interventions in the treatment and management of schizophrenia in primary and secondary care. December 2002.
Available at http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG1 (accessed on 27 October 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

Your doctor may do some of the things below to help work out if you have schizophrenia.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Puri BK, Laking PJ, Treasaden IH.
Textbook of psychiatry.
2nd edition. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, UK; 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

²

If your primary care provider thinks that you may have schizophrenia, he or she will probably refer you to a hospital or clinic, to see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist will want to hear the history of any problems you've had. He or she may ask you:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Puri BK, Laking PJ, Treasaden IH.
Textbook of psychiatry.
2nd edition. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, UK; 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

²

The psychiatrist will probably ask about any other mental or physical health problems you have had, and whether anybody else in your family has had mental health problems.

If a friend or relative has come with you to the hospital or the clinic, your doctor may ask them what they have noticed about your condition. This may be particularly important if your symptoms are making it hard for you to speak or for people to understand what you are saying.

During the interview, the psychiatrist will look at you carefully and see how you react to things. This is called a mental state examination. This is to find out if you have schizophrenia symptoms at the time of the interview. The psychiatrist will:

There aren't any blood tests or scans that can show if you have schizophrenia. But you may need to have blood or urine tests, to make certain you don't have another condition that can cause mood problems.

Your doctor will always check for any other conditions that could be causing your symptoms, before making a diagnosis of schizophrenia. For more information, see What else might it be?

When the psychiatrist has gathered up all the information about your symptoms, he or she will compare this with the standard descriptions of schizophrenia.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
4th ed. Washington, APA. 1994.

 

 

 

 

 

³ Before making the diagnosis, the psychiatrist will consider how much your symptoms have affected your life, and whether you have had problems for at least six months.

Your psychiatrist will be looking to see if you've had two or more of the following symptoms, each of which have lasted for about a month at a time:

If you have had two or more of these, your doctor will probably diagnose schizophrenia. But if the delusions are obviously false (they are bizarre), or the hallucinations affect you a lot, the doctor will diagnose you with schizophrenia, even if you haven't had any other symptoms.

The information on ConsumerReportsHealth.org should not be viewed as a substitute for a consultation with a medical or health professional. The information is meant to enhance communication with your doctor, not replace it. Consumers Union can not be liable for any loss, injury, or other damages related to your use of this information.

Your use of this information is subject to our User Agreement available at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.