psychological therapy: family therapy

Question 1

AO1: family therapy

Answer 1

• interventions is to try and reduce high levels of EE
• takes place in home
• two family therapists are present
• lasts 3-12 months
• family and patient develop strategies to cope better with the disorder and symptoms
• family made more aware of sz
• family encourage to ask questions and learn more
• patients discusses symptoms with family
• they are provided with practical coping skills, enabling them to manage everyday difficulties
• family learns more constructive ways of communicating
• focus on good things
• told it is normal to feel angry and impatient
• family trained to recognise early signs of relapse so they can intervene.

Question 2

AO3: strength- evidence support from meta analysis

however, unreliable

Answer 2

P: evidence support from meta analysis
E: 53 studies investigating the effectiveness of drug therapy from Europe, Asia and USA. Compared the outcomes from family therapy compared to ‘standard’ care (e.g. drugs alone).
E: found family therapy increased patients compliance with medication and a reduction in the risk of relapse.
L: suggests that the treatment is effective in reducing relapse and for a long time.
HOWEVER, the experiments aren’t reliable as they cant be repeated to check for consistency.

Question 3

AO3: strength- makes medical care cost effective

Answer 3

P: makes medical care cost effective
E: if family member are educated then they can help manage a patients medication regime
E: this can decrease the need for medical help and makes the treatment cost effective.
L: treatment appears to be cost effective when it comes to family therapy

Question 4

AO3: limitation- nature of therapy can cause problems

Answer 4

P: some argue the nature of the therapy can cause problems
E: the premise of the therapy is ‘openness’. family members may be reluctant to share information as it may cause or reopen family tensions.
E: this lowers the effectiveness of the treatment
L: many not be effective as initially thought

Question 5

AO3: limitation: evidence proving that it is not worth while

Answer 5

P: evidence proving that family therapy is not worth while
E: study compared patients given family therapy, had carers or neither. Found in both the family therapy and carers group that they had low rates or relapse.
L; suggests that for many people family interventions may not improve outcomes further than a good standard or treatment as usual.