The importance of hope in coping with schizophrenia

Hope is an important dimension of psychological functioning, the source of strength in existential challenges both in health and illness. It is already known that hope is connected with the subjective well-being in people suffering from schizophrenia. Therefore, increasing hope is a promising goal of therapeutic interventions. On the other hand, multiple definitions of hope and methodological differences in the approach to the subject do not lead to determining therapeutic indications, useful in clinical practice. Most scientific projects about hope in people with schizophrenia concentrate on description of mechanisms influencing the patients welfare or determining the relationships between hope intensification and other factors. The paper reviews the concepts of hope and related psychometric techniques and presents the results of research on hope in people with schizophrenia. The presented studies are focused mainly on relationships between hope and psychopathology, the recovery and well-being of the patients. Continuing the research in this topic and analysis of current data may contribute to beneficial changes in the treatment of schizophrenia