essay on 20 marker about a psychological treatment for schizophrenia in a scenario, including 5 PEEL paragraphs and links to the scenario for ao2 marks
Q6 Henry has been referred to a psychiatrist and has been diagnosed with
schizophrenia. Whilst talking to the psychiatrist he disclosed he has a variety of
symptoms including hearing voices telling him he is not a good person. He also has
delusions where he thinks he is a superhero and can save the world. Henry has also
withdrawn from his family and friends and no longer goes out to see his local rugby
team play. He does not get on with his parents as he feels they were not loving
parents when he was a child.
Henry’s psychiatrist wants to treat him with psychological treatment.
To what extent could 1 psychological treatment be effective for Henry’s
schizophrenia? (20)
Family therapy may be effective for Henry’s schizophrenia (SZ). this therapy focuses on
helping the whole family in supporting the individual diagnosed with a mental illness. The
aim of this is to develop a supportive atmosphere around the patient so that they can feel
better and make better progress in their recovery from the mental disorder. For example, if
Henry’s parents were to know that Henry feels that they were not loving parents when he
was a child, they can help Henry in feeling better and supporting him emotionally, which can
make Henry feel better and make better recovery from his symptoms of schizophrenia.
However, family therapy relies on the whole family being honest and open with the
therapists, which they may not always be due to potential embarrassment of discussing
about their mentally ill family member. This means that Henry’s parents might be
embarrassed to talk about their son’s SZ and openly voice their opinions. This may limit the
effectiveness of family therapy because a supportive atmosphere is not built in this way,
which means that Henry may not be able to make progress in his recovery or reduce the
severity of his symptoms because he may not feel comfortable enough due to the negative
emotions present within his family, such as him not getting on with his parents.
Family therapy may not be effective on its own. This therapy lasts 3-12 months, with
sessions every 2-4 weeks at home. The issue is that not all families are able to commit to
these sessions due to time constraints or difficulty interacting with people with mental
disorders. For example, Henry’s parents may not be able to manage to follow through all
these sessions and interact with Henry properly because they may find it difficult to cope
with his psychotic symptoms such as auditory hallucinations of hearing voices telling him he
is not a good person, and delusions of grandeur of believing he is a superhero and can save
the world. These symptoms may be hard for the parents to understand as they may seem
irrational and not logical, leading them to struggle with understanding Henry’s symptoms,
meaning they may drop out from family therapy. This may limit the effectiveness of thi
psychological treatment because a supportive network is not built within Henry’s family,
which means that his symptoms may not improve due to insufficient support from his family.
On the other hand, family therapy helps the whole family to cope with Henry’s SZ through
interactive sessions. This is because the demands of living with someone with a complex
mental disorder are high, therefore family therapy may make the family feel supported in
their roles and encourage them to support Henry in his delusions and dysfunctional
interactions with the family.
Family therapy may be effective as it builds a supportive network within the family. The
family is trained to recognise early signs of relapse from the patient, so that they can
respond rapidly to reduce the severity of the symptoms. For example, Henry’s family can be
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