Disorganized schizophrenia

Disorganized schizophrenia was a former subtype of schizophrenia marked by disorganized speech and behavior, inappropriate or blunted affect, and difficulty with daily activities. It is no longer a separate diagnosis in current major diagnostic systems.

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Formal thought disorder: Disruption in the organization and expression of thought, often evident in speech. Disorganized speech was a central feature of this subtype.
Emil Kraepelin: German psychiatrist who grouped severe psychotic disorders under the term dementia praecox. His classification helped establish the historical framework from which schizophrenia subtypes developed.
DSM-5: The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It discontinued schizophrenia's traditional subtypes, including the disorganized subtype.
Antipsychotic: A medication used primarily to reduce psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. Medication decisions are based on current symptoms rather than the former subtype.
Diagnostic classification: The systematic grouping of disorders according to shared features and agreed criteria. This diagnosis existed within a classification system that later changed.
Disorganized behavior: Actions that are poorly organized, unpredictable, or difficult to direct toward a goal. This subtype included behavior that interfered with purposeful daily activity.
Eugen Bleuler: Swiss psychiatrist who introduced the term schizophrenia and emphasized disturbances in associations and affect. His account shaped the concept of disorganization in schizophrenia.
ICD-11: The World Health Organization's eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Its schizophrenia diagnosis does not use the former subtype categories.
Psychosocial rehabilitation: Support that helps people with mental health conditions build skills and participate in community life. It can target functional difficulties that the old subtype description highlighted.
Psychiatric nosology: The study and organization of psychiatric disorders into diagnostic categories. The subtype's history illustrates how psychiatric categories are revised.