{"id":29429,"date":"2026-09-03T13:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&p=29429"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:02:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T20:02:46","slug":"games-designed-at-clark-will-open-pathways-for-those-living-with-schizophrenia","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/03\/games-designed-at-clark-will-open-pathways-for-those-living-with-schizophrenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Games designed at Clark will open pathways for those living with schizophrenia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Key partnership joins technology with mental health advocacy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMy son has schizophrenia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Labovich \u201981 has repeated those words many times over the past decade. To medical professionals and social services providers; to police officers and counselors. Even to himself, if only as a reminder that life has chosen an unexpected and challenging path for him and his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDavid,\u201d now 34, was the all-American kid. Captain of the football team, an accomplished musician, and brilliant in the classroom. He earned early acceptance to Williams College as a biology major, with a career in medicine on the horizon and a spot on the lacrosse team waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But something was off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gary
Gary Labovich \u201981<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the end of high school and persisting through college, David\u2019s behavior could be erratic. He tended to self-isolate, and even good friends struggled to connect with him. David did well academically at Williams, then after graduation moved to Southern California with some buddies to start a band. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a new setting surrounded by unfamiliar people, his behaviors worsened into full-on psychosis. Friendships dissolved, and periods of homelessness followed. There were run-ins with the police and episodes marked by anger, sometimes violence \u2014 all that early promise darkened by moods and impulses beyond his understanding or control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchizophrenia tends to impact young people who are quite accomplished and talented,\u201d Gary Labovich says. His son, he notes, experienced anosognosia, a physical and neurological inability to recognize one\u2019s own mental illness that is a common condition for those living with schizophrenia and one that can greatly hamper efforts to assist them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labovich recalls his and his wife\u2019s years-long efforts to secure David the help he needed \u2014 navigating medical and government bureaucracies, the challenges posed by geographic distance (they\u2019re based in the Washington, D.C., area), and the frustrating lack of resources available to people in the grip of debilitating mental illness and to the families and friends yearning to care for them. Finally, they managed to find a stable living situation for David; counseling and medication have allowed him the capacity to work a part-time job and function in the world, albeit restlessly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n