World Schizophrenia Awareness Day: Why Curiosity and Lived Experience Matter in Serious Mental Illness Care

For clinicians treating schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses (SMI), understanding a patient’s lived experience may be just as important as symptom assessment, Tracy Hicks, DNP, FNP/PMHNP-BC, told Psychiatric Times. Speaking in recognition of World Schizophrenia Awareness Day, Hicks emphasized that meaningful psychiatric care begins with curiosity, rapport, and a willingness to understand patients beyond their diagnoses.

“I think that clinicians need to always remain curious,” Hicks said. “Every patient has a story.”

Hicks, who is dual certified in family practice and psychiatric mental health and leads a community behavioral health initiative supported by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funding, said that clinicians can unintentionally lose opportunities for connection when clinical encounters become overly task-oriented. Although this is rarely intentional, she said, the pressures of daily practice can narrow focus toward symptoms, forms, and treatment algorithms rather than the person sitting in front of the clinician.

“What I’ve seen in practice, and in talking to clinicians across the country, is that curiosity is often lacking,” Hicks explained. “It’s not intentional. We get caught up in our day-to-day, and we just need to ask more questions.”

Why Curiosity Is a Clinical Skill in Schizophrenia Care

According to Hicks, seemingly simple questions can significantly deepen understanding of a patient’s goals, functioning, and barriers to care. Rather than beginning exclusively with symptom checklists, she encouraged clinicians to start with open-ended discussions centered on daily life and patient priorities.

“Tell me about you. What is it that you would like to achieve in today’s visit?” Hicks suggested as examples of useful opening questions.

She also recommended asking patients whether there are activities they once enjoyed or abilities they hope to regain. Those conversations, she said, often reveal clinically relevant information about functioning, treatment adherence, support systems, and unmet needs.

“What does that look like for you? What stops you? What are the barriers? What resources do you need?” Hicks said clinicians should ask when discussing treatment goals.

Building Rapport With Patients Experiencing Psychosis

Hicks shared a clinical encounter involving with a young man recovering from a psychotic episode who had been recently released from prison. During the visit, the patient displayed tangential thinking and had difficulty maintaining reality-based conversation. Rather than immediately redirecting or narrowly focus on symptoms, Hicks said she intentionally paused to establish trust.

“I said, ‘Tell me more about you, because I care about you. I want to see you do better,’” Hicks recalled.

The patient appeared surprised by the statement, responding that few people had ever expressed concern for him in that way.

Hicks said the exchange reinforced how powerful therapeutic rapport can be for individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who may feel stigmatized, dismissed, or reduced to their diagnosis.

“People need to understand that you care,” Hicks said. “When you’re dealing with something like schizophrenia, understanding that it’s not an identity, it’s a diagnosis—and people are people first.”

Moving Beyond Screening Tools to Understand Patient Experience

Although Hicks acknowledged the importance of structured assessments and psychosis screening instruments, she cautioned against allowing tools to replace conversation. Instead, she encouraged clinicians to use screening results as a starting point for deeper exploration.

“You answered this like this—tell me more about that,” Hicks said was a meaningful way to engage a patient after they completed a screening form.

That approach, she noted, can help patients feel heard while also reducing the sense that assessments are disconnected from thoughtful care.

Ultimately, Hicks argued that curiosity itself is a practical clinical intervention—one that can strengthen engagement, improve communication, and help psychiatrists better understand the lived realities of patients with serious mental illness.