The topic will be negative symptoms of schizophrenia, called this because they take away from or reduce functioning. Negative symptoms involve lack of motivation, social withdrawal, blunt affect, and alogia (poverty of speech or poverty of content of speech) and diminished movement.

Positive symptoms such as delusions, paranoia and hallucinations can mostly be managed and are often the focus of treatment sessions. Yet the negative symptoms are the ones that result in poor functional outcomes...