Coping mechanisms for schizophrenia caregivers through family therapy

Schizophrenia

Caregivers Send The Coping Skills With Schizophrenic Patient

Family therapy for families dealing with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia: An overview of causation

In the early 20th century, schizophrenia was often portrayed as a psychological disorder, the result of ineffective or cold mothering. Today, schizophrenia is understood as a biological disorder of the brain. Schizophrenia is usually treated with drug therapy today, and in an increasingly cost-strapped medical environment, sometimes with drug treatment alone. It is also a highly heritable condition. Having a relative with a disorder strongly increases the likelihood that someone will develop schizophrenia, and the closer the blood relation (such as an identical twin) the higher the risk.

But biology alone cannot account for the development of schizophrenic behavior. "Twin studies have shown that simple genetic transmission is far from the whole story - if one identical twin has schizophrenia, the risk for the other twin (who has the exact same genes as his/her sibling) is only about 50%. This indicates a complexity of genetics and environment that is not yet well understood, rather than a case of single or multiple gene presence in the body automatically conferring a certain risk for developing schizophrenia" (The causes of schizophrenia, 2010, Schizophrenia.com). If schizophrenia were solely due to biology, there would be a 100% correspondence between the presence of the illness in all afflicted pairs of identical twins. An interplay between environment and biology is clearly evident: "[it] is becoming increasingly evident that having the gene(s) associated with schizophrenia is just a starting point. If you have the genes, but don't experience the environmental contributing factors or 'triggers' for schizophrenia - then evidence suggests that you'll never get schizophrenia. However, if you are exposed to certain environmental factors - then the chances seem to increase (and the more environmental factors a person experiences, the higher the risk) that the person will ultimately get schizophrenia" (The causes of schizophrenia, 2010, Schizophrenia.com). Family dysfunction, drug use, and other stressors are correlated with the development of the disorder.

The impact of environment upon schizophrenia suggests that therapy in conjunction with drug treatment may be the most effective manner to mitigate the symptoms of this disorder. Family therapy can also help caregivers deal with the stresses of dealing with the symptoms of schizophrenia, which can include hallucinations and disordered thinking and speech. Caregivers of patients with mental illnesses often experience tremendous stress, and by reducing the stress in the home, the outlook of both the patient and the family's mental health can be improved. Family therapy can help caregivers develop coping mechanisms to deal with the guilt and frustrations of coping with life with a schizophrenic patient. For the patient him or herself, therapy can also help deal with the stressors of navigating drug and occupational treatment.

Research proposal

The research proposal will involve a study of schizophrenic patients. One control group will continue with current drug treatment and occupational therapy, as is customarily performed upon patients to help them cope with daily life skills. The second, experimental group will receive a combination of drug therapy, as deemed appropriate for the patients' specific conditions, and family therapy, which will involve members of the patient's family.

Over the course of the study, the family will be monitored for perceived levels of stress, using a questionnaire submitted at the beginning and end of the processes. Family members will also be interviewed for qualitative data. The patient's compliance with drug treatment and exhibition of symptoms will likewise be tracked and monitored in the two groups through questionnaires and interviews. The research will attempt to answer the question: can family therapy mitigate the stresses of care-giving to a schizophrenic patient? And can family therapy improve the success rate of current treatment for schizophrenia? Although there will be varying degrees of severity amongst the patient, the overall improvement of the patient will be tracked, not merely the extent to which the patient manifests symptoms.