Family therapy

• > Family therapy alters relationship and communication patterns within dysfunctional families, helping patients with schizophrenia recover

  > It also works by reducing expressed emotion and stress levels within the family reducing the risk of relapse

  • Improve families beliefs about and behaviour towards schizophrenia
  • Reducing the stress of caring for a relative with schizophrenia
  • Decrease feelings of guilt and anger
  • Help families maintain a balance between caring and maintaining their own lives
• Family therapy 2

  > Therapist meets regularly with patient and family, over the course of around 9 months and are encouraged to be open about the patients symptoms, behaviour and progress
• Family therapy AO3

  :) RTS Leff

  > Compared family therapy with routine outpatient care for schizophrenics

  > Found that in the first 9 months of treatment 50 % of those receiving routine care relapsed, compared with only 8 % of those receiving family therapy

  > Suggesting family therapy is an effective therapy for treating schizophrenia
• Family therapy AO3

  :( Doesnt get to the root cause of schizophrenia

  > It works by helping to reduce the stress of living with schizophrenia in a family, for both the patient and family members, this does not eliminate the symptoms completely

  > This questions the appropriateness and effectiveness of the therapy as when the therapy stops patients could relapse
• Family therapy AO3

  :( Emphasis is placed on openness

  > May cause or reopen family tensions

  > Some family members may also be reluctant to talk about or admit their problems

  > Lowering the effectiveness of family therapy as a treatment for schizophrenia