Treating and managing schizophrenia

Describe and evaluate family therapy as a treatment for schizophrenia.

Which one of the following explains how typical antipsychotics work in the treatment of schizophrenia?

Write the correct letter in your answer book.

A They block dopamine receptor sites.

B They block dopamine receptor sites and prevent the re-uptake of dopamine.

C They increase the number of dopamine receptor sites.

D They prevent the re-uptake of dopamine.

Outline one limitation of the use of drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Tokens are sometimes used in the management of schizophrenia. Which of the following best describes the tokens that are used in token economies?

Write the correct letter in your answer book.

A Something enjoyable that is presented for good behaviour.

B Something neutral that is presented for bad behaviour.

C Something neutral that is presented for good behaviour.

D Something unpleasant that is presented for bad behaviour.

Researchers studied therapies for schizophrenia. They assessed the mood of two groups of participants before the participants received therapy. The same participants were assessed again after four weeks of receiving therapy.

Group 1 (Drug therapy group) received drug therapy alone.

Group 2 (Combined therapy group) received a combination of drug therapy and cognitive therapy.

The researchers assessed mood using a standardised test of mood. A low score indicated negative mood and a high score indicated positive mood. Scores ranged from 0 to 100. The lowest score was 24 and the highest score was 83.

Table 1 shows the results of the study after four weeks of therapy.

Table 1 Mean mood scores for Group 1 (Drug therapy group) and Group 2 (Combined therapy group) after four weeks of therapy

Explain why the data in Table 1 does not enable the researchers to draw proper conclusions about the effectiveness of therapy for the two groups. What should the researchers do about this?

Evaluate antipsychotics as a therapy for schizophrenia.

Jay and Mary are clinical psychologists. They each work with patients who have schizophrenia. Both Jay and Mary treat their patients without the use of drugs. Jay explains how he involves close relatives in treatment so there is less tension. Mary describes how she helps patients to gain understanding of their own thoughts and develop effective strategies to help themselves.

Describe and evaluate family therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy as treatments for schizophrenia. Refer to Jay and Mary in your answer.

Martine has schizophrenia. She is afraid because she believes that her care workers are trying to hurt her. She hears voices telling her to lock the doors and windows so the care workers cannot get into her house. She thinks about nothing else.

Explain how a cognitive behaviour therapist might treat Martine’s symptoms.

Below are four evaluative statements about token economies as used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Which statement is TRUE ? Write A, B, C, or D in your answer book.

A Token economies can be used effectively in any environment.

B Token economies have a positive effect on thinking.

C Token economies help to promote acceptable behaviours.

D Token economies address the cause of the problem.

Outline and evaluate the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia.