Schizophrenia: A Blueprint for Recovery

by Milt Greek

A Blueprint for Recovery provides innovative techniques to work with a person in psychosis, move him or her into recovery and aid in rejoining mainstream society. Topics include the building of psychosis, hallucinations and false perceptions, working with someone in psychosis, stabilizing on medication and counseling for self-understanding. The 2012 Revised Edition includes enhancements in understanding psychosis, a discussion of medication and alternatives and a new appendix to aid in working with a person experiencing psychosis. The 2014 follow-up and companion book, Delusions, Meaning and Transformation, extends the understanding of psychosis and places the original material in A Blueprint for Recovery into the context of numerous other strategies for working with and transcending psychosis.

"After my wife and I read A Blueprint for Recovery, it was like a light came on for us." - Father of young person formerly in psychosis

"Milt Greek's thoughtful, respectful model for engaging psychotic individuals in treatment is welcome in a field that, in the past, had little to offer therapists who want to help individuals with schizophrenia." - Sandy Watt, M.Ed. Professional Clinical Counselor

"Milt is one of the most articulate and astute authorities on schizophrenia I have ever had the privilege to know or hear." - Tom Walker, NAMI Ohio Board of Trustees member

"Milt's experience and presentations are critical for those who work with persons with thought disorders." - Diane Pfaff, MSW, Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Mental Health Board

"Milt Greek's wisdom, acquired from years of living with schizophrenia, resonated with me." - Christina Bruni, author and expert blogger on schizophrenia

"Milt Greek's crisis intervention presentation is one of the best I've seen. His talk 'Basics of Psychotic Thinking and Feeling' mesmerized the audience." - Fred Frese, Ph. D.

Genres: Mental Health

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2011

About the author

I am a sensitive person who has had the good fortune of having a happy adult life shared with my family and community. The early years of my life were marked by turmoil and unhappiness, much of which I brought onto myself. Fortunately, these hard times helped me realize that I was a lucky person in a challenging world and I had an obligation to use my good fortune to help those less fortunate.

After meeting my wife in the mid 1990s, I came to understand my own sensitivity and my need for inner peace and tranquility. I have spent many years in meditation and studying my personal world, seeking to understand people and the Earth around me.

While my initial publications stem from volunteer work with people in psychosis and research into the experience, prior to these publications I had written several books and essays. These earlier works seek to help sensitive people and express my viewpoint as a sensitive person. Since I prefer a quiet, private life, I set these writings aside for many years and spent my free time in community volunteer work and fulfilling family responsibilities.

After nearly two decades, I have decided to begin to publish this material. Though I have sought to help people deal with psychosis, I have always felt that I could help people in general, particularly people who, like me, are sensitive and experience our feelings and ideals very powerfully.

I plan to begin publishing the material in the fall of 2018 and continue to publish books, both fiction and nonfiction, for some time to come. In the past, I found that my responsibilities as a family man and community member, as well as an author about and survivor of schizophrenia, outweighed my personal ambitions to pursue writing. Now that I am older and some of these responsibilities have lessened, I hope to publish regularly.

If you choose to read some of the material I will publish, I sincerely hope that you find it useful and inspiring in your life's journey. We are all in this hard and wonderful world for a very short time and fulfilling our dreams of happiness, inner peace and outer harmony are central to a contented, meaningful life. I wish you well on your quest to attain these gifts.

Reviews

[Mercedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only helped me understand the experience of psychosis, (by sharing a rare insightful/insider's view, he knows what many people with psychosis experience, feel, etc. This is meaningful, has it helped me understand myself better, changed the way I view the world, even though I do not have mental illness, I am a caretaker of two people who do.
It is one of the more practical, easy to read manuals for recovery that I have read on this subject. I I have spent 12 years researching it, waiting for a book like this to come along. It is as he says, a blueprint for recovery.
It is also a book for those who are caretakers, the parents, spouses, family or friends, doctors, or anyone who wants to be truly helpful to those with mental illness.
It's an answer to my prayers. I had been reading anything I can get my hands on, wanted someone to enlighten me as to how to connect with them, to find bridge from my world to theirs. Without trying, it brings a lot of hope to the world.
His writing style is like an antidote, for such a complex subject, writing with a simplicity, & clarity, sharing his own experience, strength and hope. He is also well educated, in the traditional sense, having two degrees (among others like computer science) that are significant to help inform this book/topic. One in psychology, one in Sociology.
He also walks his talk, and helps others in individual and group setting, and is doing research into recovery from schizophrenia and psychosis, which is being documented. He is a head of his time in this medical system, someday, they will adopt his wholistic approach and see the value of treating the whole person, not just as if they were a machine that needs a pill to fix it, (he is not anti medication either and takes medication himself...)

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book to an extent. It doesn't cover what is schizophrenia and any symptoms more than hallucinations and delusions. That isn't bad but neglecting the negative symptoms and other positive symptoms won't give those caregivers of a newly diagnosed a chance to see the whole picture.

BUt covering the psychosis is big. For those who delusions and hallucination are seen it is good to look at it. At times I felt it hard to follow. I felt like it should have been broken up in more chapters and included how symptoms looked when discussing issues.

[Colleen Maillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a useful and interesting read. If I were physically closer to my schizoaffective loved one, I could imagine it would help a great deal. This individual’s recovery over schizophrenia gives me hope.

[Eduardo Lira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué paradójico que la ideología de turno sea el más deshumanizante, que bien que hay algunas almas que no caen ante las tentaciones y con corazones puros que aún queremos hacer un cambio

[Lin Teichman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have a Schizophrenic loved one, this book is a good help for understanding what is happening with them. There are many good ideas on how to coax them into treatment…or how to learn to be patient with them if they refuse. My takeaway was that it is the compass not the clock that counts when trying to help someone with this type of mental illness.