Psychological therapy for Schizophrenia: Family Therapy Flashcards
A01
Outline Family therapy for treatment of SZ
Family therapy seeks to treat members of the family as well as SZ patient by reducing the high level of EE (expressed emotion) within the household which could be attributed to an exaberation of SZ symptoms or relapse
Family therapy includes range of interventions aimed at the family of someone with SZ
Aim-improve quality of commuication & interaction between family members & reduces the stress of living as a family & so in turn reduces rehospitalisation
Also aims to improve household relationships as therapist encourages family members to listen to eachother
Outline Pharoah et al (2010) strategies for family therapy
Pharoah et al identified a range of strategies by which family therapies aim to improve the functioning of a family with a memeber with SZ:
* Forming therapeutic alliance with family members
* reducing stress of caring for relative with SZ
* Helping family members achieve a balance between caring for the individual with SZ & maintaining their own lives
A03
None of the three psychological therapies above actually treat the patient and ‘cure’ their
schizophrenia.
Instead, these therapies simply improve their quality of life through making the
symptoms more manageable.
* e.g token economies increase the likelihood that patients act in accordance with hospital rules & breaks disruptive patterns of behaviour,
* whilst family therapies reduce stress within a schizophrenic family & so increase the likelihood of the patient
complying with their medical advice,
* whereas CBT improves the patient’s understanding of their
symptoms.
This suggests that an interactionist approach towards treatment is best adopted:
biological therapies can treat the distal causes of SZ, whilst psychological therapies can treat the proximal symptoms!
A03
Evidence for effectiveness of family therapy-cost effective-NIce review
Strength
Economic Benefits: Family therapy is highly cost effective because it reduces relapse rates, so the patients are less likely to take up hospital beds and resources. The NICE review of family therapy studies demonstrated that it was associated with significant cost savings when offered to patients alongside with standard care – Relapse rates are also lower which suggests the savings could be even higher.
