ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the final chapter in which a patient is presented, the latest phenomenological and neurobiological research being conducted at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and in the field in general will be reviewed through the story of “George.” George was from rural, upstate New York. He had schizophrenia for 20 years. He had never required hospitalization and functioned well, keeping the same job at the local library for 25 years. However, he had persistent and refractory auditory hallucinations that were resistant to every medication he had ever tried, including clozapine. George had learned to live with his hallucinations. He was eventually referred to the New York State Psychiatric Institute for research when, as part of his eligibility screening, the clinical team made a startling discovery that changed the course of his illness and life.
