psychological therapy for schizophrenia

• Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)


  A method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques
• Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)

  • From the cognitive viewpoint the therapy aims to deal with thinking, such as challenging negative thoughts
  • The therapy includes behavioural techniques
• Family therapy

  A psychological therapy carried out with all or some members of a family with the aim of improving the communications within the family and reducing the stress of living as a family
• psychological therapy

  • cognitive behaviour therapy
  • family therapy
• cognitive behaviour therapy

  • period of 5-20 sessions
  • groups of individual basis
  • aims to deal with both thoughts and behaviour
• cognitive behaviour therapy

  • make sense of how irrational cognitions impact their feelings and behaviours
  • understanding where symptoms come from can be hugely helpful for those with symptoms like auditory hallucinations
  • auditory hallucinations - malfunctioning speech centre in their own brain and that it cannot hurt patient - less frightening
  • symptoms more easy to cope with - reduces distress
  • normalisation - voice-hearing is an extension of the ordinary experience of thinking in words
  • reality-testing - jointly examine the likelihood beliefs are true
• AO3 - CBT - strength

  P: evidence for effectiveness

  E: Jauher - 34 studies of using CBT concluded there is evidence for effects on both positive and negative symptoms

  Pontillo - found reductions in frequency and severity of auditory hallucinations

  Clinical advice recommends CBT for schizophrenia

  L: both research and clinical experience support the benefits of CBT for schizophrenia
• AO3 - CBT - limitation

  P: wide range of techniques and symptoms included in studies

  E: techniques and symptoms vary widely from one case to another

  Thomas - different studies have involved the use of different CBT techniques and people with different combo of positive and negative symptoms

  E: overall modest benefits of CBT for schizophrenia conceal a wide variety of effects of different CBT techniques on different symptoms

  L: hard to say how effective CBT will be for a particular person
• Family therapy

  • takes place with families as well as the identified parent
  • aims to improve quality of communication and interaction between family members
• Family therapy

  • Pharoh - range of strategies that family therapists use
  • reduces negative emotions - aims to reduce levels of expressed emotion this helps reduce the likelihood of relapse
  • improves the family's ability to help - encourages family members to form a therapeutic alliance - agrees on the aims of therapy and improves families beliefs and behaviour
  • ensures family members achieve a balance between caring for the individual and maintaining their own lives
• family therapy model

  1. sharing basic info and providing support
  2. identifying resources that can be offered
  3. encourages mutual understanding - safe space
  4. identifies helpful patterns of interaction
  5. skills training - stress management techniques
  6. relapse prevention
  7. maintenance
• AO3 - family therapy - strength

  P: evidence for effectiveness

  E: McFarlane - consistently effective treatment available to schizophrenia - relapse rate reduced

  clinical advice - recommends family therapy for everyone with diagnosis

  L: means that family therapy is likely to be of benefit to bother early and full-blown people with schizophrenia
• AO3 - family therapy - limitation

  P: benefits for all family members

  E: Lobban and Barrowclough - these effects are important because families provide the bulk of care for people with schizophrenia

  when you strengthen the function of a whole family - lessens the negative impact of schizophrenia on everyone and strengthens support

  L: family therapy has wider benefits beyond the obvious positive impact on the identified patient