Pharmacological and Psychosocial Treatments in Schizophrenia

The authors here describe key areas in the holistic treatment of people with schizophrenia. In particular, they firmly put the importance of psychosocial treatments back on the agenda. Due to the profusion of literature addressing pharmacological treatments, only one chapter is devoted to these, reviewing the latest data concerning the newer antipsychotic agents and providing clinical pointers and guidelines for their use. The book's real emphasis is on the psychosocial interventions for specific aspects of schizophrenia symptoms and disability. These interventions that have been shown to offer major benefits to recovery in the disorder, and yet have failed to maintain their position as more effective biological treatments have become available. The text brings together the relevant literature from several decades to highlight the evidence base for the importance of psychosocial interventions. It also provides effective strategies for use in both clinical settings and in the family context, placing the patient (and the family) once again at the center of therapeutic endeavors. Encouraging professionals to offer a broader therapeutic approach, this volume offers hope to therapists, patients and families, explaining what can be achieved if psychosocial interventions complement the many psychopharmacological treatments now available.