ABSTRACT
Within this chapter we will consider the potential for certain complex post-traumatic reactions to be categorized as symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is the most commonly diagnosed form of psychotic disorder. Symptoms include hallucinatory experiences, which are commonly auditory, but may also be visual, olfactory or tactile, and delusions, which often occur in the form of paranoid beliefs. Fenigstein (1996) described paranoia as a disordered mode of thought dominated by an intense, irrational, but persistent mistrust or suspicion of people and a corresponding tendency to interpret the actions of others as deliberately threatening or demeaning. Before an individual is diagnosed with schizophrenia, they have often suffered a long period of distress within which they feel confused and threatened. Upon diagnosis the standard treatment is administration of anti-psychotic medication.
