Today, medication can treat very well schizophrenia symptoms. The results are encouraging and side effects are minimum. But, medical treatment isn't all a schizophrenic patient needs. Usually, this patients are having social problems, caused by many factors. Mostly, the disease starts in teenage period, and they are not well prepared for all the social events.
That why psychosocial treatments are necessary. Psychosocial treatments can help with the behavioral, psychological, social and occupational problems associated with the illness. Through therapy, patients can learn to control their symptoms, identify early warning signs of relapse and develop a relapse prevention plan. Psychosocial treatments are used to improve psychosocial functioning and involve either teaching new skills and helping individuals take greater control over their lives, or modifying environments in which patients live.
The most used and with the best results psychosocial treatments are:
Rehabilitation: are programs focused on social skills and job training, trying to help patients to be as much independent as they can be, so do not need other people to watch over them.
Individual psychotherapy: involves a professional help such as a psychiatrist, which can help the patient to understand better his illness. For that, the psychiatrist must talk with the patient and gain his confidence, so the patient can share with him his problems, to describe their world. Knowing what the problems are, the psychiatrist should make the patient to recognize what is real and what not.
Family therapy: can help families to know more about the disease and its symptoms. Family members can became the second doctor. They have a great role in social integration of a schizophrenic patient, and they are the connection between the patient and the doctor, watching the symptoms and relate them to the one who treat the patient.
Group therapy: a group is made by one or two therapists and a few patients. Is a form of therapy that works with the patients that passed over the acute phase of schizophrenia. The patients share theirs problems and learn from the others how to get through real world obstacles.
Self-help groups: the group doesn't have any specialized person, it embrace family members of schizophrenia patients or even ex-patients who share their experience in schizophrenia problems.
Visit my Schizophrenia website for more information on this subject. Also, don't forget to check out the Types Of Schizophrenia page.
