The popular book of the outstanding Swiss psychiatrist D. Hell and the German psychotherapist M. Fischer-Felten, which has survived several editions in Europe, was first presented to the Russian reader. The strictly scientific information presented in it has not only cognitive, but also psychotherapeutic significance both for the relatives of the patients and for the patients themselves, since the knowledge they receive helps to realize and overcome many symptoms of diseases of the century - schizophrenic diseases.