We thought this article from The New York Times on how talk therapy helps treat schizophrenia was with sharing with you. Talk therapy is a big part of our approach at the Center for Effective Living, and we’re happy to see it recognized publicly. If you (or someone you love) are in the greater Cleveland area and living with schizophrenia, we hope you’ll reach out to learn more about incorporating talk therapy into your treatment plan. In the meantime, please read this excerpt from the NYT article and click the link below for the full text.
More than two million people in the United States have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and the treatment for most of them mainly involves strong doses of antipsychotic drugs that blunt hallucinations and delusions but can come with unbearable side effects, like severe weight gain or debilitating tremors.
Now, results of a landmark government-funded study call that approach into question. The findings, from by far the most rigorous trial to date conducted in the United States, concluded that schizophrenia patients who received a program intended to keep dosages of antipsychotic medication as low as possible and emphasize one-on-one talk therapy and family support made greater strides in recovery over the first two years of treatment than patients who got the usual drug-focused care.
The report, to be published on Tuesday in The American Journal of Psychiatry and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, comes as Congress debates mental health reform and as interest in the effectiveness of treatments grows amid a debate over the possible role of mental illness in mass shootings.