Disorder of Basic Selfhood in the Schizophrenia Spectrum: A Novel Phenotype

This article conceptualizes schizophrenia as a disorder of subjectivity centered on disturbances of basic self. Drawing on phenomenological resources, clinical work and clinical research, it argues that anomalous self-experiences is a core and defining feature of the schizophrenia spectrum. Using the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience, the article demonstrates how disruptions in core aspects of selfhood such as the sense of self-presence, embodiment, and self-world demarcation, generate characteristic clinical phenomena. We suggest that the mainstream Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-based psychiatry neglects the structures of subjectivity with negative consequences for clinical work and research.