FAMILY THERAPY AO1 & AO3

Question 1

Family therapy

Answer 1

• involves working with patients and family members to develop coping strategies for managing the disorder/symptoms and to reduce stress levels in the household, which also prevents relapse.
• It can last between 3-12 months and occurs in the patient’s home.
• The goal is to create a supportive atmosphere in the family, helping the patient to make better progress while also reducing stress for family members who are caring for someone with schizophrenia.

Question 2

One advantage of family therapy theory is that there is supporting research to show effectiveness.

Answer 2

• For example, a meta-analysis involving 32 studies compared those having family intervention therapy to those receiving standard (drug) therapy, and found that the relapse rate in the family intervention condition was 26% and in the control condition it was 50%.
• There was also a reduction in hospital admissions during treatment and in the severity of symptoms both during and up to 24 months following intervention.
• This demonstrates that family therapy theory is an effective treatment and helps reduce relapse rates within schizophrenics.
• This is an advantage as it improves the quality of life for them, and improves long-term outcomes for schizophrenics