Family Therapy

• A range of interventions aimed at the family of someone with schizophrenia - also involving them

  • More modern therapists aim to reduce expressed emotion
  • Improve the quality of communication between family members, and reduce the stress of living as a family - reduces rehospitalisation and increase compliance with medication
  • Negotiation of possible solutions together

  Used in conjunction with drug therapy and outpatient clinical care
• Strategies - Psychoeducation 


  Improving families knowledge, beliefs about and behaviour towards schizophrenia, and helps the patient and family to understand and be better able to deal with the illness
• Strategies - Forming a therapeutic alliance with all family members
• Strategies - Improving the ability of the family to anticipate and solve problems
• Strategies - Reduction of anger and guilt in family members
• Strategies - Helping family members achieve a balance between caring for the individual with schizophrenia and maintaining their own lives
• Strategies - Reducing the stress of caring for a relative with schizophrenia and the emotional climate within the family
• Strategies - Maintaining reasonable expectations among family members for patient performance - how quickly someone can got back to normal behaviour
• Pharaoh et al (2010)

  Meta-analysis of 53 studies (Europe, Asia and North America) published from 2002-2010 for the effectiveness of family therapy (compared to antipsychotics alone)
• Pharaoh et al (2010) - Findings

  Relapse - there was a reduction in the risk of relapse and a reduction in hospital readmission during treatment and in the 24 months after
• Pharaoh et al (2010) - Findings

  Mental State - some studies reported an improvement in the overall mental state of patients whereas others dont
• Pharaoh et al (2010) - Findings

  Medication - There was an increased compliance with medication
• Pharaoh et al (2010) - Findings

  Social functioning - Family therapy improved general functioning but did not appear to have much of an effect on more concrete outcomes such as living independently or employment