Psychological Therapy for Schizophrenia

• What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy?

  • Treating mental disorders through cognitive and behavioural techniques
  • Cognitive techniques deal with thinking - tackling negative thoughts
  • Behavioural techniques dea
  • 5 to 20 sessions
  • Individual or group sessions
  • AIM: help the patient identify irrational beliefs and change them (using argument, discussing and consider alternatives
• How does CBT work?

  • Reduces anxiety by offering psychological or rational explanations
  • E.g challenging delusions so that patient learns it is not based on reality
  • Client can make sense of their irrational cognitions - delusions, hallucinations
  • Does not eliminate the symptoms of schizophrenia, but makes them better able at coping with them
  • Thus there is a reduce in stress, and they can function adequately
• What is Family Therapy?

  • All or some members of the family with the identified patient
  • Aims to improve communication and interaction within the family and reduce the stress of living as a family
• How does Family Therapy work?

  Pharoah et al (2010)

  1. Reduces negative emotions
  2. Reduces levels of expressed emotions (EE)

  • Especially guilt and anger cause they cause stress
  • Removing stress reduces likeliness of relapsing
  • Improves the family