Family Therapy

• Family Therapy

  •Family therapy is a range of interventions aimed at the family (e.g. parents, siblings, partners) of someone with schizophrenia. It should also involve the person with schizophrenia if practical•It aims to improve the quality of communication and interaction between family members, and reduce the stress of living as a family and so reduce rehospitalisation.•It is commonly used in conjunction with drug therapy and outpatient clinical care.
• •During sessions, the individual with schizophrenia is encouraged to talk to their family and explain what sort of support they do and do not find helpful. It improves relationships within the household because the therapist encourages family members to listen to each other, discuss problems and negotiate potential solutions together.
• Family therapy for schizophrenia

  • Helping the patient and their family to understand and be better able to deal with the illness
  • Forming a therapeutic alliance with all family members
  • Reducing the stress of caring for a relative with schizophrenia and the emotional climate within the family
  • Improving the ability of the family to anticipate and solve problems
  • Reduction of anger and guilt in family members
  • Helping family members achieve a balance between caring for the individual with schizophrenia and maintaining their own lives
  • Improving families' knowledge, beliefs about and behaviour towards schizophrenia
  • Maintaining reasonable expectations among family members for patient performance
• •Pharoah et al. (2010) suggest that these strategies reduce stress and expressed emotion, whilst increasing the chances of patients complying with medication. This tends to result in a reduced likelihood of relapse and readmission to hospital.
• •Pharoah et al. (2010) reviewed the evidence for the effectiveness of family therapy (compared to antipsychotics alone). They found that:–There was a reduction in the risk of relapse and a reduction in hospital readmission during treatment and in the 24 months after.–Some studies reported an improvement in the overall mental state of patients whereas others didn’t.–There was an increased compliance with medication.–Family therapy did not appear to have much of an effect on more concrete outcomes such as living independently or employment.