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Cognitive-behavioural therapy promises to improve functioning

By Patricia Nicholson Fri, Mar 5th, 2010

Traditional schizophrenia treatment focuses heavily on medication to treat psychosis. But new approaches that incorporate cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) suggest that neurobiology may not be destiny when it comes to schizophrenia, and quality of life issues suggest there is more to treat than paranoia and voices.

"There are also negative symptoms that patients struggle with," says Dr. Gail Myhr, director of the CBT Unit at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Quebec. "Difficulty doing things, getting out and resuming their lives after a psychotic break; maybe they'll go home and live with their parents and stay in the basement."

These are often people whose positive symptoms are under control, but whose functioning remains low. "They're not actually hallucinating or frightened or anxious or depressed, but they're not doing a lot," says Myhr. "This is an aspect of schizophrenia which is troubling, particularly for families. With CBT, we can focus on that [functioning] and gradually get people in a stepwise fashion to resume a life which is satisfactory to them."

Traditional therapy does not address cognitive deficits, but CBT - which has enough evidence behind it to make it a mandated treatment in the United Kingdom - is growing in popularity in North America as an adjunct treatment.

Full article.