Family therapy can significantly decrease relapse rates for the schizophrenic family member. Supportive family therapy can reduce this relapse rate to below 10 percent. This therapy encourages the family to convene a family meeting whenever an issue arises, in order to discuss and specify the exact nature of the problem, to list and consider alternative solutions, and to select and implement the consensual best solution. Medications Schizophrenia appears to be a combination of a thought disorder, mood disorder, and anxiety disorder. The medical management of schizophrenia often requires a combination of antipsychotic, antidepressant, and antianxiety medication.
Antipsychotic medications help to normalize the biochemical imbalances that cause schizophrenia.
They are also important in reducing the likelihood of relapse. There are two major types of antipsychotics, traditional and new antipsychotics. Traditional antipsychotics effectively control the hallucinations, delusions, and confusion of schizophrenia. This type of antipsychotic drug, such as haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and fluphenazine, has been available since the mid-1950s. Side effects for antipsychotics may cause a patient to stop taking them.