Group Therapy for Schizophrenic Patients

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that disrupts thought, mood, and behavior and afflicts 1% of the population worldwide. In the United States alone, some three million people will experience the pain and anguish of this severe, chronic illness, and millions more of their family and friends will be affected indirectly. Although antipsychotic medications generally are considered to be the primary treatment intervention for this condition, these drugs are not cures. Symptoms in many patients fail to respond adequately to drug treatment, and even patients continue to experience psychosocial problems. There is a critical need for new treatment approaches that are safe and that will help these patients deal effectively with their inner and outer worlds. In controlled studies, group therapy has been found to be a useful adjunct to medication to help schizophrenic patients cope with their illness and relate better to others. Group Therapy for Schizophrenic Patients acquaints mental health practitioners with a safe, helpful, and cost-effective method of treatment that has resulted from more than 20 years of clinical practice and research. Practical guidelines and clinical vignettes help the reader in leading such groups in inpatient, and outpatient, and short-term settings. The book considers important theoretical and clinical issues, such as treatment goals, patient selection, relevant discussion topics, and therapeutic process. Although this book is basically a "how-to" treatment manual, it does include chapters about history, theory, and research involving group therapy with schizophrenic patients. Health care workers and trainees who provide services to schizophrenic patients and their families will find Group Therapy for Schizophrenic Patients of particular interest. The book is beneficial for students as well as experienced practitioners, for staff in state and federal hospitals as well as in managed care settings and private offices, for researchers as well as clinicians, and for experienced group therapists as well as novices in this therapeutic modality.