Section - Quick Takes

04. Should We Rename Schizophrenia?

Published on August 7, 2026 Certification expiration date: August 7, 2029

Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., F.A.C.L.P.

Co-director of the MGH Psychosis Clinical and Research Program & Professor of Clinical Psychiatry - Massachusetts General Hospital - Harvard Medical School

Key Points

Many patients and families misunderstand schizophrenia as “split personality,” and the term itself is not neutral. Renaming may reduce stigma, but evidence is mixed and systemic barriers remain.
The proposed Positive and Negative Symptoms Disorder (PND) reflects current dimensional practice, yet any renaming effort requires broad global consensus and stakeholder input.
Clinically, focus on specific symptom clusters (positive, negative, affective, cognitive, motor) rather than treating schizophrenia monolithically. Draw individualized symptom profiles showing each patient’s unique admixture, which may fluctuate over time.

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Towards a Name Change: Should We Rename Schizophrenia?

In this Quick Take today, I am going to do something slightly different compared to my usual review of a clinical psychopharmacology trial. We’re going to discuss and think through an editorial that poses the question if schizophrenia ought to be renamed. The editorial was published in the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience . The first author was Stefan Leucht, a German psychiatrist working in Munich who was joined for this paper by an international group of psychiatrists.

I think this question is intellectually interesting and it also matters for your clinical work as you may have struggled how to introduce the term schizophrenia to your patients and particularly when or even if to use it in your younger patients.

Operating Assumptions About Validity

Let me preface my comments. For the purposes of our discussion today, I am not going

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05. Ashwagandha Plus Melatonin for Sleep: Better Than Either Alone?

Learning Objectives:
After completing this activity, the learner will be able to:

Apply evidence-based risk-versus-risk counseling when advising pregnant patients on antidepressant continuation, distinguishing confounded associations from causal neurodevelopmental risk in offspring.
Implement a risk-stratified approach to SSRI selection in patients already taking antipsychotics.
Evaluate patients with prior clozapine-associated neutropenia as candidates for rechallenge by distinguishing true clozapine-induced immune neutropenia from other causes.
Describe the clinical rationale for presenting schizophrenia through its five symptom dimensions.
Identify key limitations of current evidence for ashwagandha and melatonin combination therapy and counsel patients appropriately on the populations studied.

Original Release Date: August 07, 2026
Expiration Date: August 07, 2029

Experts: Scott Beach, M.D., Amanda Koire, M.D., Oliver Freudenreich, M.D. & Derick E. Vergne, M.D.
Medical Editors: Flavio Guzmán, M.D. & Sebastián Malleza M.D.

Relevant Financial Disclosures:
Oliver Freudenreich declares the following interests:
– Karuna: Researcher (MGH)
– Medscape: Speaker honorarium
– Wolters-Kluwer: Royalties for medical writing

All the relevant financial relationships listed above have been mitigated by Medical Academy and the Psychopharmacology Institute.

None of the other faculty, planners, and reviewers for this educational activity has relevant financial relationships to disclose during the last 24 months with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

Contact Information: For questions regarding the content or access to this activity, contact us at support@psychopharmacologyinstitute.com

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Participants must complete the activity online within the valid credit period noted above.

Follow these steps to earn CME credit:

View the required educational content provided on this course page.
Complete the Post-Activity Evaluation to provide the necessary feedback for continuing accreditation purposes and for the development of future activities. NOTE: Completing the Post Activity Evaluation after the quiz is required to receive the earned credit.
Download your certificate.

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Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of Medical Academy LLC and the Psychopharmacology Institute. Medical Academy is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation Statement
Medical Academy designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use DisclosureArtificial intelligence (AI) tools may have been used in limited stages of developing this activity (e.g., drafting or language refinement). The specific tool, version, and date of use are documented internally.AI does not determine clinical recommendations. All content is reviewed, verified, and approved by the listed faculty and medical editors, and reflects independent human clinical judgment consistent with ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.