Schizophrenia: Psychological Therapies for Schizophrenia Flashcards
Name two Psychological Therapies for Schizophrenia
> Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
> Family Intervention
Describe CBT
In CBT, patients are asked to trace back the origins of their symptoms in order to get a better idea how the symptoms might have developed. They are also encouraged to evaluate the content of their delusions or of any internal voices they hear and to consider ways in which they might test the validity of their faulty beliefs. During CBT, the therapist lets the patient propose their own coping strategies that are already present in the patient’s mind.
Describe Family Intervention
By reducing levels of expressed emotion and stress, and by increasing the capacity of relatives to solve related problems, family intervention attempts to reduce the incidence of relapse for the person with schizophrenia. Family intervention makes use of a number of strategies including, Forming an Alliance with relatives who care for the patient, reducing emotional climate within the family and the burden of care for family members etc. Family interventions from part of an overall treatment package and are commonly used in conjunction with routine drug treatment and outpatient clinical care.
Describe the effectiveness of CBT
Research has tended to show that CBT has a significant effect on improving the symptoms of patients with schizophrenia.
Name an example of a study which supports the effectiveness of CBT
Gould et al.
What did Gould find?
found that all seven studies in their meta-analysis reporte a statistically significant decrease in the positive symptoms of schizophrenia after treatments
Evaluate the appropriateness of CBT
CBT for schizophrenia works by trying to generate less distressing explanations for psychotic experiences, rather than trying to eliminate them completely. Negative symptoms may well serve a useful function for the person and so can be understood as ‘safety behaviours’. CBT therefore offers some hope of alleviating these maladaptive thought processes.
Name a study which supports the effectiveness of Family intervention
NICE
What did the NICE study find?
NICE study involved a meta analysis involving 32 studies and nearly 2500 participants found significant evidence for the effectiveness of family intervention in the treatment of schizophrenia. When compared with patients recieving standard care alone, there was a reduction in hospital admissions during treatment and in the severity of symptoms both during and up to 24 months following the intervention.
Evaluate the appropriateness of family intervention
Research evidence has begun to show the effectiveness of family interventions as an addition to antipsychotic medication. However, most of this evidence comes from studies conducted outside the UK, principally in China. The NICE study expressed the view that hospitalisation levels may differ significantly across countries, depending on clinical practice within those countries. Therefore data on hospitalisation rates from non-UK countries might not be applicable to the UK settings.
