so, theres a severe lack of easy-to-access, helpful online resources for psychotic and schizospec disorders (google is literally useless wrt this for some reason), and i’m gonna attempt to remedy that. all of the resources below are resources i’ve personally found useful
firstly, i’ll tentatively drop a support group: i’ve personally been to hearing voices groups and have found them helpful with the particular empathy other psychotic people provide + the lack of pathologization, something i absolutely cannot get anywhere else. i suggest looking over their resource page, but i will note that for some psychotic people, especially people actively in a psychotic episode and experiencing significant delusions, this may not be helpful due to the inherent validation it provides! be careful in any case, and feel free to consume critical (1) perspectives on it as well.
also, forums can be nice. i suggest psych forums as well as schizophrenia forums (note: second is for both people with schizophrenia and caretakers/partners/families of people with schizophrenia, and the former has subcategories for every mental illness)
understanding psychosis: resources and recovery, very comprehensive but easy to read examination of psychotic symptoms and steps towards recovery. also has a helpful section on side effects of medication + considerations when deciding if medication is right for you
CBT for psychotic symptoms (consider going through this with a therapist, but it can be helpful alone too) + skip to appendix 2 (pg. 133) for worksheets
dealing with psychosis toolkit, self explanatory. consider looking at other things on earlypsychosis as well
what is schizoaffective disorder? (generally reliable information, i have a few issues with some of the wording though)
NAMI facts on schizophrenia and NIMH publications on psychosis
60 coping strategies for hallucinations
dealing with psychosis: full workbook, pretty self explanatory but very helpful and also relatively easy to read
now, for those without psychosis: how can you help people with schizospec/psychotic disorders?
the do’s and don’t’s of helping a family member (or friend!) in psychosis
helping someone with psychosis (tumblr post)
psychosis first aid guidelines for loved ones
dealing with unusual thoughts and behaviors factsheet
steps for working with delusions
if you’re a friend, family member, or at all close with someone with schizophrenia or psychosis i heavily encourage you to research as much as you can, and above all else listen to what schizophrenic and psychotic people say. if you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do, it never hurts to ask the person in question how you can help them.
book recommendations (with links):
understanding your schizophrenia illness
cbt for psychosis: a symptom based approach
psychosis, trauma and dissociation: emerging perspectives on severe psychopathology
when the sun bursts: the enigma of schizophrenia (title sounds cheesy, is actually really good)
cognitive therapy for schizophrenia
living outside mental illness: qualitative studies of recovery in schizophrenia
trauma and psychosis: new directions for theory and therapy
schizoaffective disorders: international perspectives on understanding, intervention and rehabilitation
recovered, not cured: a journey through schizophrenia
note: the majority of these books aren’t very accessible as they’re meant for clinicians, but these are just books that i’ve found helpful in general
add anything else that’s been helpful for you accordingly! if you’re nonpsychotic feel free to reblog as well, as it could be helpful for any followers you might have that are psychotic