The concept of disordered selfhood in schizophrenia reemerged around the year 2000. In 2005, the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) was published as a psychometric tool. This article traces the historical background of the EASE, explains the idea of a disorder of the basic or minimal self using phenomenological philosophy, and describes the clinical signs the EASE targets. The authors share their own experience using and teaching the EASE and review the empirical evidence gathered so far. They argue that basic self-disorder is a key phenotype of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, offering a path for empirical research into causes and for psychotherapeutic treatment.
Poor insight in schizophrenia is linked to fundamental alterations in the structure of subjective experience, known as self-disorders, rather than to other symptoms or general intelligence. In a study of 67 patients with schizophrenia or non-affective psychosis in a non-acute phase, those with impaired insight had significantly higher levels of self-disorders than those with good insight, while positive, negative, and depressive symptoms did not differ between groups. Regression analyses showed that only self-disorders were significantly associated with impaired insight. These findings support the idea that self-disorders contribute to poor insight, which may inform early intervention and treatment.