Recovery from schizophrenia: a review of patterns of psychosis

The literature describing symptomatic recovery in schizophrenic psychosis is reviewed. The dimensional and categorical models which have been used in this context are examined separately, and the phenomena of postpsychotic depression and style of recovery are also discussed. A model is then suggested in which the process of recovery is related to five dimensions of psychopathology. Such a model may be of use in efficiently describing the short-term course of psychosis in which symptom patterns or states, having relevance for clinical practice and research, could be defined.