Neuroscience, neurology, mental disorders

[Love]

What causes schizophrenia? We don't know. I know I sure don't, the whole "not being a neurologist" hindering my understanding of course, but even if I were, in all likelihood, I still probably would not know.

To say "we don't know" is misleading. The currently accepted model for the cause of schizophrenia is the "dopamine hypothesis". The vast majority of typical and atypical antipsychotics are primarily dopamine receptor (D2) antagonists. It is thought that over activity of dopamine D2 neurotransmission results in "positive" symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.

If you ask a chemist, a neurologist, a pharmacologist, a psychologist, or psychiatrist: Medication.

Psychologists typically do not advise medication because they are not trained in the field of medicine (unless they are both a psychiatrist and a psychologist). Where I live, the first port of call for suspected mental illness is the GP. The GP might refer to a psychiatrist (who are trained medical doctors, and go through over a decade of medical training) if it is serious enough. If a psychiatrist believes that the person does not require medication, they may be referred to a psychologist (not a medical doctor) who might advise psychological treatments like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP).