BELIEFS OF PSYCHOLOGISTS ABOUT SCHIZOPHRENIA AND THEIR ROLE IN ITS TREATMENT

A survey of the beliefs of 150 psychologists in Ireland and the United Kingdom concerning four issues ("schizophrenia is a valid construct", "genetics probably plays a minimal role in the determination of schizophrenia", "schizophrenia is adequately treated with medication", and "schizophrenia is too severe a condition for psychologists to work with") was conducted to discover whether false beliefs about schizophrenia (Bellack, 1986) could account for the fact that psychological interventions are rarely employed in its treatment. The results did not support the false-beliefs hypothesis. Approximately equal numbers of subjects agreed and disagreed with the statement that schizophrenia is a valid construct, few of them agreeing or disagreeing strongly. Most of the respondents seemed to think that genetics play more than a minimal role in determining the condition, but the majority of them disagreed with the claims that it is adequately treated by medication and that it is too severe a condition to work with. It is suggested that the minimal role of clinical psychologists in the treatment of schizophrenia may be accounted for by factors such as those acting upon the psychologists, and the unattractive and minimally rewarding features of the schizophrenic clients in comparison to other clients.