interactionist treatment

Question 1

what is the basis of the interactionist treatment of Sz

Answer 1

• combines antipsychotic medication with psychological therapies such as CBT
• more standard in Britain for combination, US more commonly medication prescriptions

Question 2

what is a main strength of the interactionist treatment approach

Answer 2

• 315 patients randomly allocated to: medication and CBT group; medication and counselling; and a control group
• patients in the combo groups showed lower symptom levels than controls, but no difference in rates or hospital readmission
  + reduces symptom levels with the combinations
• family therapy is missing; may explain the communicative issue that leads to relapsing

Question 3

what is the main limitation of the interactionist approach to treatment

Answer 3

• argues that it is the same as claiming that alcohol reduces shyness therefore shyness is caused by a lack of alcohol
• treatment-causation fallacy; we believe that because a testament is effective in treating symptoms, then it validates the cause of the disorder
• issue as it means that treating Sz is inaccurate

Question 4

what is the strength/limitation eval for the interactionist treatment

Answer 4

• Sz more commonly diagnosed in urban areas than rural ones, sometimes used to justify the approach
  + considered that the urban environment is more stressful/acts as a ‘trigger’ for Sz development
• however may be due to better healthcare leading to more diagnoses, or that people with a greater Sz vulnerability (18-25) are more likely to migrate to cities