The importance of subjective psychotic experiences: implications on psychiatric rehabilitation of people with schizophrenia.

Starting with Jaspers in 1910, subjective psychotic experiences of people with schizophrenia became an important area in treatment and rehabilitation of people with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, this area of study is overshadowed by the statistically and diagnostically oriented DSM movement. In this article, the writer tries to re-visit various approaches in understanding subjective psychotic experiences of people with schizophrenia. It seems that subjective psychotic experiences represent persons' inner feelings; their spontaneous struggle in their process of treatment and rehabilitation. All these experiences are meaningful for the persons with psychiatric disabilities. In this paper, the writer tries to show that empathetic understanding of subjective experience can help individuals to re-establish a meaningful relationship with people with schizophrenia and motivate them to become involved in their own rehabilitation process.