AO1 schizophrenia Flashcards
psychological explanations for schizophrenia
family dysfunction
schizophrenogenic mother - psychodynamic theory, paranoias delusions are the result of a cold and rejecting mother
double bind theory - mixed messages lead to disorganised thinking and paranoia
expressed emotion - exaggerated involvement
criticism and control - over the sufferer’s behaviour, hostility and rejection
cognitive explanations - the ability to process thought is dysfunctional Firths “attention deficit theory” a faulty attention system which is unable to filter preconscious thought - leads to positive symptoms
delusions of control = fault in meta representation
drug therapies for schizophrenia
antipsychotics - also known as neuroleptics, used to control psychosis such as delusions and hallucinations, taken in a pill form or injected
typical antipsychotics - 1st generation drug, severe side effect, less popular, and only treat positive symptoms e.g. chlorpromazine work as dopamine antagonists (reducing dopamine levels) side effects include dry mouth, constipation, tar dive dyskenisa
atypical antipsychotics - 2nd generation drug, e.g. clozapine work on blocking dopamine but also on other neurotransmitters such as serotonin and glutamate, address symptoms of avolition, side effects include, weight gain, cause involuntary movement and cardiovascular problems
CBT, family therapy, Token economies
CBT - assumes that schizophrenia is the result of dysfunctional thinking / processes, ABC model by Ellis, challenging irrational beliefs, by logically disputing beliefs the reality of faulty cognitions (delusions) then cognitively reconstructing those beliefs and finding alternatives using reality testing
family therapy - improving family dysfunction to prevent relapse, the therapy is family centred, the family is educated on symptoms (psychoeductaion) - reducing levels of expressed emotion
token economies - based on skinners operant conditioning, behaviours is progressively changed (behaviour shaping), tokens are used as positive reinforcement which can be exchanged for a bigger reward
interactionist approach for explaining schizophrenia
diathesis - stress model - suggests the disorder is due to the interaction between a predisposed vulnerability and an environmental trigger in later life (stress)
diathesis = genetic vulnerability resulting in a dopamine imbalance
stress = negative environmental experience such as family dysfunction, emotional stress or a major life event
suggests that effective treatment should use a combination of CBT and drug therapies
