PSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION OF CHRONIC-SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS - RECENT FINDINGS ON SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING AND FAMILY PSYCHOEDUCATION

Deficits in social and role functioning are central to schizophrenia. Social skills training (SST) and family psycho-education (FP) have been widely used psychological treatments intended to improve the community functioning of schizophrenic patients, and to reduce the burden on relatives living with patients. This paper is a review of recent studies in which the clinical effects of SST and FP have been assessed. SST consistently improves the social skills of schizophrenic patients, but there has been inadequate assessment of the transfer of skills to patients' day to day lives. It is unclear if clinically significant change in patient functioning in the community can be obtained with SST. Relative to no treatment, FP improves interaction between schizophrenic patients and their relatives, and reduces family burden and patient relapse rates. FP is an important component of effective clinical management of schizophrenia. Future research needs to better assess the clinical significance of the effects of SST, the effects of SST and FP on patients' negative symptoms and social role functioning, and the sources of the considerable individual differences in patient responses to both SST and FP. © 1991.