Schizophrenia Caregivers Send the Coping

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.

What is family therapy?

Bowen family systems therapy "is a theory of human behavior that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit" (Bowen theory, n.d, The Bowen Center). Systems therapy is based on the premise that family members form unconscious or conscious alliances. Triangular relationships in which different people are engaged in conflicts with one another, projections upon other family members, passing negative coping mechanisms from generation to generation are all examples of how family units can behave in a dysfunctional manner. When a member has a certifiable mental illness, these dynamics can be exacerbated. Systems therapy can help all members of the family better understand the negative and positive roles they are playing in a positive fashion.

Using such intense methods as family systems therapy is controversial with schizophrenia, given that it can be difficult for the patient to fully participate in the self-analysis required of conventional 'talk' therapy. However, once the patient's symptoms are bought under control, this is less of a concern. Furthermore, even when the patient is fully symptomatic, the patient's family may still have issues they need to discuss. Involving the family in the patient's treatment also requires sensitivity and awareness of the needs of the family. Making the family feel involved can increase support for and compliance with treatment on the part of the patient by creating a more stable network between different family members.

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.