AO1

• What is family therapy

  -is a range of interventions aimed at the family
• What does the The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend

  -that family therapy should be offered to all individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ) who are in contact with or live with family members

  -They also state that such interventions should be a priority where there are persistent symptoms or a high risk of relapse.
• How long is family therapy offered

  -for a period of three to twelve months with at least ten sessions; it is aimed at reducing high levels of expressed emotion (EE) as this has been shown to increase the likelihood of a relapse

  -Garety et al (2008) estimates the relapse rate for an individual who receives family therapy as 25% compared to 50% for those who receive standard care (medication only) alone.
• One key feature of FT is psycho-education. What is that?

  -It aims to help individuals and their families to understand and better able to deal with SZ
• Another key feature is reducing expressions of

  -anger and guilt by family members.
• Another feature is maintaining

  -reasonable expectations among family members for patient performance.
• Another feature is encouraging relatives

  -to set limits whilst maintaining some degree of separation when needed.
• Pharoah (2010) reviewed 53 studies published between

  -2002 and 2010 to investigate the effectiveness of family therapy

  -Studies were chosen in Europe, Asia and North America and they compared outcomes to standard care.
• Researchers concentrated

  -on studies that were randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

  -It was found that in terms of mental health results were mixed, some studies reported an improvement of those receiving family therapy and some did not.
• The use of family therapy increased

  -patient’s compliance with medication. Family therapy did not have much of an effect on concrete outcomes such as living independently or employment.
• There was a reduction

  -in the risk of relapse for those receiving family therapy and a reduction in the readmission of hospitalisation during treatment and the following 24 months afterwards.