A major new Lancet Commission on Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders will confront one of the world’s most complex and debilitating health challenges.
Researchers from the Deakin Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (Deakin IMPACT) have joined an international group of experts led by Professor Marion Leboyer from Fondation Fondamental, including individuals with lived experience, to improve the substantial gaps in diagnosis, prevention, long-term care, hopefulness for recovery, and public understanding.
At the forefront of the Commission is Deakin Distinguished Professor Michael Berk (Director, Deakin IMPACT) who will co-author alongside Professor Marion Leboyer, Bruno Pedraz-Petrozzi (Fondation Fondamental) and Moritz Spangemacher (Central Institute of Mental Health, Germany).
Professor Berk, who also serves as the Chair of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, says the Commission aims to bridge the gap between research and clinical applications to provide real-world solutions for those suffering from mental health conditions.
‘There is an urgent need to provide people with schizophrenia, and their families, hope of improved quality of life and renewed ability to productively engage with their families, workplaces, and society.’
‘The Lancet Commission on Schizophrenia is a chance to set the policy, research and clinical agenda for the next decade, ensuring that scientific breakthroughs translate into tangible improvements in understanding, preventing, and treating this complex disorder.’
Improving schizophrenia and psychotic disorders outcomes
Among the experts is Professor Alison Yung (Deakin IMPACT) who has been leading research in the early stages of psychotic disorders for over three decades.
‘Schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders affect approximately 23 million people worldwide, impacting not only health but also social and economic outcomes,’ says Prof Yung.
‘The Commission acknowledges that conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and related syndromes frequently overlap. We need for a more integrated approach that moves beyond strict diagnostic categories to better capture the complexity of psychotic disorders.’
The Commission also aims to address stigma, discrimination, social exclusion, and inequities in care, with particular attention to settings where mental health services are limited or under-resourced.
‘What needs to change is not only how we treat this condition, but how we talk about it, understand it and support people living with it.’
Lived experience at the core of the commission
Dr James McLure, a researcher at Deakin IMPACT with lived experience of schizophrenia and the Commission’s Lived Experience Lead, says honouring the lived experience voice alongside clinical and research expertise is crucial to developing real-world solutions that are evidence-based, and equitable.
‘Personal lived experience supports researchers understanding of challenges and successes through personal testimonies and the learned wisdom gained in mental health recoveries,’ Dr McLure says.
‘Lived experience testimony tells individual stories related to the illness and provides unique insights and perspectives. For example, people don’t go back to who they were prior to being unwell, with great effort they can be a new and improved person transforming and strengthening daily.’
‘Family lived experience broadens the understanding of the challenges faced by families in reconciling the experiences of psychosis and in loving their family member back to health.’
Dr McLure says opening the conversation about lived experience instantly shifts misconceptions and allows the community to understand the enormous challenge and courage people with personal and family lived experience face daily.
‘Research has long portrayed schizophrenia as a burden with poor outcomes, but a growing shift towards co-design is now shaping the narrative from burden due to increasing contribution of people with lived experience.’
‘Schizophrenia, as debilitating as it is when active, can lead to a divine transformation of self which ripples through families and communities and creates new and improved persons with greater empathy, humility, and purpose.’
Dr McLure recently led two lived-experience workshops in Australia: one with people who have personal experience of schizophrenia, and another with five family members supporting a loved one living with the condition.
A roadmap to shape global care
As one of the world’s leading medical journals, The Lancet assembles multidisciplinary Commissions to address major global health challenges. Bringing together international experts and academic partners, the Commission’s develop evidence-based recommendations aimed at shaping future healthcare, research and policy.
The expert panel will work together over the next three years to develop an integrated framework for understanding and managing psychotic disorders.
The final report will provide practical, evidence-based guidance for healthcare providers, including general practitioners, psychiatrists, and allied specialists, as well as accessible, plain-language information for patients, families, and policymakers worldwide.
Learn more about the team
- Professor Michael Berk: NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Chair of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, Australia, Director of the Deakin Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (Deakin IMPACT)
- Professor Marion Leboyer: Professor of Psychiatry (UPEC, AP-HP, Inserm), CEO of the Fondation FondaMental, Scientific Director of the PEPR PROPSY precision psychiatry exploratory research program (Inserm and CNRS with Fondation FondaMental; France 2030)
- Bruno Pedraz-Petrozzi: (Fondation FondaMental, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, PEPR PROPSY – France/Germany)
- Moritz Spangemacher: (Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg – Germany)
- Peter Falkai (Germany): Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and spokesperson for the German Center for Mental Health (DZPG)
- Professor Alison Yung (Australia): MD, NHMRC Research Leadership Fellow and Professor of Psychiatry at the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester, UK.
- Maxime Taquet (United Kingdom): MSc BM BCh MRCPsych PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford
- Rob McCutcheon (United Kingdom): MRCPsych, PhD, Associate Professor and consultant psychiatrist at the University of Oxford
- Dan Siskind (Australia): MBBS, MPH, PhD, FRANZC, Clinical Academic Psychiatrist at Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Service and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Queensland
- Nicola Reavley (Australia): Principal Research Fellow at Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
- Mark Weiser (Israel): from the Division of Psychiatry at Sheba Medical Center and Professor of Psychiatry at Tel Aviv University School of Medicine
- Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg (Germany): Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Heidelberg University, CEO and Medical Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim
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