RESUMO
In this article, building on and extending Jaspers' concept of the "patient's attitude toward his illness" we draw attention to the active role that the person, as a self-interpreting agent engaged in a world shared with other persons, has in interacting with his/her basic disorder and in the shaping of psychopathological syndromes. This person-centered approach helps us to see patients as meaning-making entities rather than passive individuals and their attempt at self-understanding as not necessarily pathological and potentially adaptive. We describe 3 contemporary resources for a person-centered psychopathology: dialectical psychopathology, contemporary approaches to the meanings-causes debate, and value-based practice. Each of these provides a theoretical framework and practical resources for understanding the diversity of schizophrenic phenotypes, including symptom presentation, course, and outcome as a consequence of the different ways people with schizophrenia seek to make sense of the basic changes in self and world experiences. A person-centered approach, in building on patients' individual values and experiences as key aspects of their self-understanding of their psychosis, supports recovery and development of self-management skills.
