Schizophrenia forum advocates for rights

Doctors say that beyond medication, sufferers must have a social support system.

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ABU DHABI // Health professionals should consider social issues facing schizophrenic patients rather than just their medical needs, a conference heard yesterday. Mental health professionals discussed topics including the possible abuse of people with schizophrenia and cultural stigma of the disorder.

"We are discussing sexual abuse, social beliefs and marriages for people with schizophrenia," said Dr Maha al Ameri, the director of the behavioural sciences pavilion at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC). "These are individuals at the end of the day. They want to have a good life and some of them are thinking of having families. You can't just focus on the medication part and ignore the fact that these are human beings who have the right to a good quality of life."

The meeting, at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi, was the first of a series of annual events looking at the social side of psychiatry organised by SKMC and the Abu Dhabi Psychiatric Club. Schizophrenics can suffer from hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. The disorder is believed to affect one per cent of the population. "Stigma has been built up in Arabic movies which have created a very bad impression and stigma about psychiatry," said Prof Tarif Ali al Habeeb, a psychiatrist at SKMC.

"The stigma is here. It will not disappear but it may decrease. Psychiatric disorders are increasing worldwide. Over the last few years there has been a big improvement in Abu Dhabi and the Emirates in general regarding psychiatric disorders." The stigma can even affect the relationship between a doctor and a patient. Because the disorder can sometimes alter a person's perception of reality, it is hard to tell whether the problems they complain of are real or just in their minds. This vulnerability can make them targets. Dr Mufeed Raoof Hamdi, a psychiatrist at SKMC, said people with untreated schizophrenia had a higher risk of sexual abuse.

"There are some hidden problems that don't easily come into the light," he said. With proper treatment, many patients are capable of living normal lives, but only if people around them give them the opportunities to do so, experts say. "There are old, ancient, almost historical ideas about people with schizophrenia as being unreliable, unpredictable and aggressive. But actually, what we have seen over the last two decades with all the treatments that are available patients are getting back to normal life," said Dr Saad Faheem Ghalib, a psychiatrist at SKMC.

With proper treatment, patients could hold down jobs, get married and even raise children, he said. Doctors needed to be aware of these possibilities and provide their patients with the appropriate advice. "It is about education and having support for that person. You are not just caring for one person with an illness, you are caring for the whole family," said Dr Ghalib. "It is just unfair that those people can be denied the right of having normal lives."

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