Social stigma is widely recognized as a major barrier to recovery from mental illness. In Poland, as in other countries, the society perceives mental illnesses as an intimidating problem, while the people affected are often treated with reservation and a sense of distance. One of the first Polish organizations addressing stigmatization and social…

Schizophrenia as mental illness is defined in terms of diagnostic criteria which do not include the full range of psychosocial difficulties that shape the lived experience of persons with this diagnosis and affect their quality of life. The biopsychosocial approach found in the World Health Organization's International Classification of…