Hustig & Norrie,
Box 4
www.mja.com.au
© 1998 MJA
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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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