Three-Year Trials of Personal Therapy Among Schizophrenic Patients Living With or Independent of Family, I: Description of Study and Effects on Relapse Rates

Abstract

Personal therapy had a positive effect on adverse outcomes among patients who lived with family. However, personal therapy increased the rate of psychotic relapse for patients living independent of family. The application of personal therapy might best be delayed until patients have achieved symptom and residential stability.

Family intervention for schizophrenia

“…Length of treatment-Length of treatment varied from six weeks (Bloch 1995;Goldstein 1978) to three years (Hogarty 1997). Hogarty 1997 also followed participants up for an additional three years.…”

“…Thirteen trials included family therapy in the presence of patients (Barrowclough 2001;De Giacomo 1997;Dyck 2002;Falloon 1981;Glynn 1992;Goldstein 1978;Herz 2000;Leff 1982;Leff 2001;Mak 1997;Zhang 1994) whilst eight restricted the groups to relatives (Bloch 1995;Chien 2004;Hogarty 1997;Leavey 2004;Posner 1992;Vaughan 1992). conducted family sessions mostly without the patient being present.…”

“…Three trials used a quasirandomisation technique (Gong 2007;Hogarty 1997; and it is possible that these studies are unacceptably open to the introduction of bias at the point of allocation. Only Carra 2007 described measures to conceal the sequence of allocation from participants and investigators.…”

Behavior Analysis and the Treatment of Schizophrenia: An Alternative to Wong’s (2006) View of the Political Economy

“…The newness of the pattern of hospitalization may have played a factor in the relapse rate. In another study with chronic patients, however, Hogarty et al (1997) included a general approach to family therapy for patients residing with their families. They found no advantage for family therapy over supportive therapy in preventing relapse.…”

Thérapie cognitive béhaviorale des psychoses

“…Il importe de noter que l'efficacité de la thérapie cognitive est spécifique pour la réduction de symptômes ou de rechutes chez les personnes qui ont une symptomatologie psychotique active. Des essais de thérapies psychologiques de la psychose qui n'utilisent pas de méthodes cognitives n'ont pas démontré les bénéfices atteints par la thérapie cognitive (Gunderson et al, 1997 ;Hogarty et al, 1997). Ces aspects de la thérapie qui sont spécifiques aux thérapies cognitives peuvent être cruciaux.…”