Schizophrenia Awareness

About this course.

Schizophrenia is one of the most misunderstood and heavily stigmatised of all health conditions. For generations it has been the subject of frightening headlines, careless jokes and damaging myths, and the people who live with it have too often been feared, avoided or written off rather than understood and supported. The reality is very different: schizophrenia is a serious long-term mental health condition that affects how a person thinks, feels and perceives the world, and it is a condition that can be treated and managed, with many people going on to recover or to live full and meaningful lives. This awareness-level course is designed for care, health, social care and frontline staff who support people living with schizophrenia, as well as anyone who wants to understand the condition better and challenge the stigma that surrounds it.

It explains what schizophrenia actually is — a type of psychosis — and dismantles the most common and harmful myths, including the false belief that it means a ‘split personality’ and the damaging stereotype that people with the condition are dangerous or violent. It describes the symptoms in a clear and compassionate way, looks at what causes the condition and how it is treated, and sets out how you can offer practical, respectful and effective support. This is an awareness course, not a clinical qualification: it does not make you a mental health professional and is not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis or care. The course concludes with a 20-question multiple-choice assessment, which you must pass at 80% to earn your CPD certificate.