schizophrenia treatments

Question 1

what is the named biological treatment for schizophrenia

Answer 1

drug therapy

Question 2

AO1 about schizophrenia drug therapy

Answer 2

• Antipsychotics are prescribed to help control the psychotic symptoms of sz such as hallucinations
• There are 2 types of anti-psychotics:
  o Typical- includes chlorpromazine which work by having to reduce the level of dopamine in areas of the brain associated with sz symptoms. they block dopamine receptors which prevents the dopamine binding to receptors in the synapse, this calms them down. They mostly block D2 receptors in these areas which helps reduce the frequency of psychotic symptoms.
  o A typical- they don’t bind as tightly to D2 receptors as typical. This means they temporarily block the receptors rather than permanently effecting dopamine transmission. This is to help reduce some of the more side effects of typical anti psychotics and it also reduces negative symptoms of sz.
• Drugs are usually taken orally regularly to keep symptoms under control or they may be administered through injections.

Question 3

3 strengths of drug treatment for schizophrenia

Answer 3

+ they allow patients to stay in society, so they don’t have to be institutionalised in hospital for a long period of time
+ they help reduce symptoms to enable other therapies to take place
+ it can reduce symptoms within 10-14 days which is good as CBT may take months

Question 4

3 weaknesses of drug treatments for schizophrenia

Answer 4

• They don’t cure it they just treat it
• side effects such as weight gain and dryness of mouth which can cause people to stop taking the anti-psychs causing their sz to worsen.
• drug therapy doesn’t work for everyone, and researchers estimate that up to 25% of patients on anti-psychotics never get better

Question 5

what is the non biological treatment of schizophrenia

Answer 5

psychoanalysis

Question 6

AO1 of psychoanalysis

Answer 6

• Dream association = where you keep a dream diary, and you take it to sessions and your psychiatrist will evaluate to try and find the meaning
• Free recall = is when the client is encouraged to take about whatever they are thinking the therapist then makes links.
• Slips of the tongue = mistakes you make when talking that seem to reveal an unconscious thought or attitude.
• Schizophrenics tend to withdraw so psychoanalyses should avoid thinking saying or feeling anything that may trigger a patients fear of closeness.
• The therapist is there to make up for the lack of mothering the patient has. This is done by providing warmth and reaching a harmonious relationship.
• The psychoanalysis allows the schizophrenic to release their repressed material by making it conscious. They reconstruct their ego defence mechanisms so they can deal with the past better.
• To help with this the therapist should try to bring the patient to early childhood with the therapist playing the role of the parent so the patient can “become an adult” and reconnect with reality.

Question 7

3 strengths of psychoanalysis

Answer 7

+ psychoanalysis gets to the root cause of the problem.
+ some people may prefer psychoanalysis as their biochemistry isn’t altered
+ a study found that psychodynamic treatment is better than anti-psychotics.

Question 8

3 weaknesses of psychoanalysis

Answer 8

• there are long waiting lists and often patients have to pay privately
• problem with patients gaining insight and being able to engage with the therapy as their perception of reality is different from acc reality
• Grinspoon et al treated chronic institutionalised schizophrenics and found no beneficial effects from psychoanalysis