Psychological therapy for schizophrenia Flashcards
Define family therapy?
A psychological therapy carried out with all members of a family with an aim of improving communication and reducing stress of living within a family
- takes place with the identified parent, the parent who expresses the family conflicts
Who identified the range of strategies used in family therapy?
Fiona Pharaoh et al
What are the strategies used in family therapy?
- reducing negative emotions
- improving the families ability to help
How does family therapy reduce negative emotions?
- it reduces levels of expressed emotion especially by reducing negative emotions like anger and guilt which can cause stress
- by reduing stress, the likelihood of relapse is reduced
How does family therapy improve the families ability to help?
- encourages family members to form a therapeutic alliance and agree on aims of therapy
- tries to improve families’ beleiefs about and behaviour towards schizophrenia
- ensures there is a balance between caring for an individual and maintaining their own lifes
Who identified the model of practice?
Frank Burbach
This is a model for working with families dealing with schizophrenia
What are the phases of a model of practice?
Phase 1 = sharing basic information and providing emotional and practical support. This develops progressively deeper levels
Phase 2 = identifying resources of what different family members can offer
Phase 3 = encouraging mutual understanding, a safe space for family members to express their feelings
Phase 4 = identifying unhelpful patterns of interactions
Phase 5 = skills training and stress management
Phase 6 = relapse prevention
Phase 7 = maintenance for the future
How does CBT help with schizophrenia?
- can help a client make sense of how their delusions and hallucinations impact their feelings and emotions
- This is specifically helpful for auditory hallucinations
- If psychologists can convince clients that their hallucinations are due to areas in their brain functioning abnormally this can help them be less fearful and help them cope more effectively
- CBT can also normalise hearing voices for clients and help them think of voices as an extension of thinking in words
- reality testing can also be used for delusions
What is a case example of CBT?
- Douglas Turkington displayed how CBT can be used to challenge delusions
For example = the mafia are threatening to kill me..
You must be frightened, there is a good reason for this
Do you think its the mafia
How do you know its the mafia
Evaluate CBT?
S = There is evidence for its effectiveness. Jauhar reviewed 34 studies of CBT and found there was evidence for significant effects of negative and positive symptoms. Marie Pontillo found reductions in the frequency and severity of auditory hallucinations. NICE also recommends CBT
L = One limitation is that there is a wide range of techniques and symptoms included in studies. CBT techniques and symptoms of schizophrenia vary widely. Thomas pointed out that different studies used different CBT techniques and people with different combinations of positive and negative symptoms. Therefore, CBT may not be effective for all individuals
Evaluate family therapy?
S = There is research support for the effectiveness of family therapy. McFarlane concluded that family therapy was the most consistently effective treatments and relapse rates were reduced by 50-60%. Also concluded that using family therapy early as mental health begins to decline is more effective. Also it is more benefical for the whole family (NICE)
L = There are benefits for all family members. Lobban and Barrowclough found that the positive effects for all family is beneficial as families provide all care for people with schizophrenia. It also lessens the negative impacts and strengthens their ability to provide support.
