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Hustig & Norrie,
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© 1998 MJA

Psychological therapies in treating schizophrenia

Inability to cope with stress

  • Stress management: cognitive-behavioural strategies coupled with problem-solving therapy.
Social interpersonal difficulties
  • Social-skills training, targeting specific areas such as making conversation, eye contact, non-verbal communication, method role playing, modelling, and small groups.
  • Self-help groups.
Residual psychotic symptoms
  • Cognitive-behavioural treatments which either lead to switching attention, increasing or decreasing stimuli, sensory strategies or physiological strategies.
  • Reality reinforcement educational group, aiming to increase patient's insight into the bizarre nature of their beliefs and allowing differentiation between symptoms and reality.
Deficit symptoms
  • Counselling, encouragement to join groups, structured rehabilitation, sheltered employment with high task repetition.
  • Constructive use of leisure time.
Training in skills for activities of daily living
  • Specific rehabilitation of basic life skills, such as cooking and budgeting.
  • Use of community support workers for practical assistance.
Social handicaps (finances, resources, housing, stigma)
  • Assistance and advocacy, social programs, service networking, self-help groups.
Family discord
  • Psycho-education: didactic information about schizophrenia, drugs and the role of stress in relapse.
  • Stress management: enhance communication; problem solving (both discreet issues and problem-solving techniques).
  • Crisis intervention.

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