Stress management and schizophrenia

Abstract

In their article, A. S. Bellack et al (see record 2000-12424-009) address the important question of delineating the core therapeutic components of carer-based stress management that account for the improved course of schizophrenic disorders found consistently when these methods have been integrated with optimal pharmacotherapy. In this comment, Falloon suggests that the Bellack et al conclusion that cognitive-behavioral strategies aimed at enhancing the problem-solving of patients and their key caregivers do not contribute to the clinical benefits cannot be drawn definitively from the study they report. The Treatment Strategies in Schizophrenia study (from which the Ss of the Bellack et al article were drawn) was extremely complex and was not designed to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the key components of cognitive-behavioral family interventions. From the outcome measures reported by Bellack et al, there was no significant difference between the 2 stress management conditions examined in forestalling hospital admissions over the 24 mo study period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)