Schizophrenia is a widely known complex mental health disorder that affects how a person behaves, thinks, and views the world around them. Because of how complex and well-known it is, it's also often misunderstood and misrepresented. In this episode, I talk about schizophrenia with Dr. Sam Reznik, an assistant professor at the University of Washington and the Director of the Psychosis Program at Seattle Children's Hospital, so we can get the full picture of what schizophrenia actually is.

Sources for Further Exploration:
The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks - A memoir about what it's like to actually live with schizophrenia, and how she overcame the obstacles it imposed to become the person she is now.
RETHINK PSYCHOSIS, a website where people gather to give first-person accounts and narratives on psychosis and various things regarding it: https://rethinkpsychosis.weebly.com/

Resources for Help:
New Journeys Program: https://www.hca.wa.gov/billers-providers-partners/program-information-providers/new-journeys-and-first-episode-psychosis
24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 988
24/7 National Emergency Helpline: 911

What is schizophrenia? Many of us have heard about it, either through mentions in books and movies or through other people. Sadly, these descriptions are often inaccurate, and lead to things like self-stigma in people who have schizophrenia, and to institutional bias. In this episode I discuss what schizophrenia is, its symptoms, and the stigma that the people who have it face.

Sources for Research:
Brut America Interview with Christopher Grant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPt2m1eYoQ
Schizophrenia - Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443
Schizophrenia - World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Symptoms - WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-symptoms
7 Types of Delusions in Schizophrenia - Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/schizophrenia/types-of-delusions-in-schizophrenia#delusions-overview
Hallucinations - Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/schizophrenia-hallucinations
Causes of Schizophrenia - NHS UK: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/causes/
Stigmatization of Schizophrenia - NIH: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9577666/
Stigma Around Schizophrenia - WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-stigma

Resources for Help:
New Journeys Program Info: https://www.hca.wa.gov/billers-providers-partners/program-information-providers/new-journeys-and-first-episode-psychosis
24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 988
24/7 National Emergency Help Hotline: 911

In this episode I discuss DID, which stands for Dissociative Identity Disorder, with Dr. Brand, a world-renowned clinical psychologist, the principal investigator of the TOP DD study series, and one of the authors for the revolutionary treatment Finding Solid Ground. We discuss what DID is, why it's so misdiagnosed, and its many faulty depictions in media.

Sources for Further Exploration about DID:
Free NYT article - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/magazine/dissociative-identity-disorder-mental-health.html?unlocked_article_code=1.I1A.TYMZ.BHLikS8SZOsc&smid=url-share
DIDR (Dissociative Identity Disorder Research) - https://did-research.org/

Resources for Help:
Bethany Brand, Ph.D. - https://www.bethanybrand.com/
ISSTD (International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation) - https://www.isst-d.org/
Finding Solid Ground - https://www.findingsolidground.info
988 - 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline
911 - 24/7 National Hotline for Help