1. Psychological Explanation & Treatments of Schizophrenia L
Psychological Explanation & Treatments of Schizophrenia L.O: Describe and evaluate BEHAVIOURAL explanations and treatments of schizophrenia

2. Psychological Explanations
Psychological explanations: Psychodynamic, Behavioural, Cognitive
Sociocultural factors: The role of social and family relationships
 life events, double bind, Expressed Emotion

3. Behaviourist EXPLANATION
Explain schizophrenia as a consequence of faulty learning
Little or no social reinforcement early in life (parental disinterest), may lead child to attend inappropriate & irrelevant environmental cues
e.g. sound of a word instead of meaning.
Result – child’s verbal or other behavioural responses will become bizarre and those who observe it will either avoid the child or respond erratically, thereby reinforcing the bizarre behaviour.
This cycle will eventually deteriorate into a psychotic state.

4. Evaluation of Approach
Moderately supported by success of behavioural therapies in helping re-integration
Social skills training Roder et al., 2002
Patients acquire useful social skills
Reintegrate into community
Suggests skills were not learned in first place
BUT Sz symptoms too complex to be all learned, though Sz may have partly led to failure to learn those skills.

5. Behaviourist TREATMENT - Token Economy Programmes
Generally used in long-term care setting such as long-stay inpatient units.
Based on and principles, participants receive reinforcers (such as tokens or points) for performing clearly defined target behaviours such as
These reinforcers then exchanged at a later time for rewards or privileges such as

6. Token Economy Programmes
Cochrane, 2000: T.E effective when targeting negative symptoms, such as poor socialisation, poor motivation, and poor activities of daily living  teaching skills!
Roder et al, 2002: Can help Sz patients gain useful social skills to help re-integrate
*call back* - what is the behaviourist ‘downward spiral’ of schizophrenia?

7. Evaluation of TREATMENT
HOWEVER: Many patients with Sz go in and out of hospital, so the drop out rate from token economy programmes is high.
Ongoing active intervention needs to be maintained to avoid deterioration of skills
T.E. has low ecological validity (esp. once incentives are removed)