Overview

The aphorism that madness and creative genius are opposing sides of the same coin predates contemporary psychiatry and has existed since the time of the great Stagirite Aristotle. Schizophrenia is one mental disorder intimately linked with creative thinking and achievement. There is no shortage of eminent scientists, thinkers, writers, artists, composers, and political activists tentatively theorized to have precariously balanced the great divide between the demons of schizophrenia and the muses of creative illumination, including Rene Descartes, Emanuel Swedenborg, John Forbes Nash, Leonardo da Vinci, and Joan of Arc, to name but a few. However, is that association veracious in an empirical sense? If it is, how exactly are schizophrenia and creative illumination related? Using new empirical findings, this book sheds new light upon the age-old assumption and goes further still in explaining how creative potential with world-fashioning powers can be channelled in individuals with this diagnosis. Mental health practitioners will find this book both intriguing and useful.

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9781527531659

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Reviews

The enigmatic relationship between creativity and the psychopathology of schizophrenia is expertly confronted in this book. Kiritsis' comprehensive, beautifully written exploration of this perplexing and fascinating topic addresses head-on how creative potential is channeled, and why this is important. As a mental health clinician, art therapist, and scholar, I am most impressed by Kiritsis' well-informed recommendations for clinical practice related to impact on overall quality of life for persons with schizophrenia and their activities of daily living. The in-depth examination of the link between long-term functional gains in executive functioning and the quality of creative output has implications that extend well beyond the mental health community. This illuminating book is a must-read for all. Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BCAssociate Professor, George Washington University, USA Because the concepts and discussions in this book aren't filtered into popular terminology, this book may prove challenging for the casual lay reader. Yet anyone deeply interested in the veracity of links between creative genius and psychological disorders will deem this well-written study stimulating and encouraging and find the symbolically related illustrations by the author (and other artists) fascinating. Kate Robinson,The US Review

The enigmatic relationship between creativity and the psychopathology of schizophrenia is expertly confronted in this book. Kirisis' comprehensive, beautifully written exploration of this perplexing and fascinating topic addresses head-on how creative potential is channeled, and why this is important. As a mental health clinician, art therapist, and scholar, I am most impressed by Kirisis' well-informed recommendations for clinical practice related to impact on overall quality of life for persons with schizophrenia and their activities of daily living. The in-depth examination of the link between long-term functional gains in executive functioning and the quality of creative output has implications that extend well beyond the mental health community. This illuminating book is a must-read for all.- Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BC,

The enigmatic relationship between creativity and the psychopathology of schizophrenia is expertly confronted in this book. Kiritsis' comprehensive, beautifully written exploration of this perplexing and fascinating topic addresses head-on how creative potential is channeled, and why this is important. As a mental health clinician, art therapist, and scholar, I am most impressed by Kiritsis' well-informed recommendations for clinical practice related to impact on overall quality of life for persons with schizophrenia and their activities of daily living. The in-depth examination of the link between long-term functional gains in executive functioning and the quality of creative output has implications that extend well beyond the mental health community. This illuminating book is a must-read for all. Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BCAssociate Professor, George Washington University, USA

Author Information

Paul Kiritsis received his PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Sofia University, formerly the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, USA. He is a certified hypnotherapist, a researcher, artist, award-winning poet and short story writer, and the author of the creative compendium Confessions of a Split Mind. He holds postgraduate degrees in history, professional writing, and psychology. His clinical interests include schizophrenia and hallucinations, the temporal-lobe epilepsies and their neuropsychiatric comorbidities, and neurocognitive disorders. He is profoundly interested in the connection between creativity and disorder, as reflected in his published dissertation.

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