Use of Evidence-based Practice in Rehabilitation Counseling: Facilitating Recovery and Community Integration for Persons with Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating psychiatric disorder that affects 1% of the population worldwide. Symptoms of schizophrenia can add to or take away from a person's normal range of behavior, may cause permanent cognitive impairments, and may vary greatly from one individual to another. The course of the illness is variable, precluding an accurate summary of long-term outcomes. However, many professionals still deny that stability and remission are possible. Providing hope of recovery is at the core of rehabilitation counseling. Every client with schizophrenia should be instilled with hope that he or she may become stable or experience complete remission. Through empirical research, multiple pharmacological and psychosocial evidence-based treatments have emerge for people with schizophrenia. Better clinical and vocational outcomes are associated with the use of these treatments. This paper offers a thorough explanation of schizophrenia and provides rehabilitation counselors with information about the best evidence-based practices to use when working with clients who have schizophrenia.