View the original paper here:
Complete this reading comprehension exercise to learn the AO1 detail before attempting to use this study to illustrate the use of case studies in psychology or to evaluate the benefits of CBT for treating schizophrenia; You need to focus on elements which relate clearly to the key features of a case study (for potential methods questions), the findings (which can be used to evaluate CBT for schizophrenia) and procedural details that can be used to evaluate the study, which could then be used to create a competing argument if using Bradshaw as support for CBT.
bradshaw-reading-comprehension
Bradshaw Answers: password protected until you have completed this HW!:
Very brief summary of the study
Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of CBT in the long-term outpatient care of a young woman with schizophrenia using a case study. To illustrate how CBT can be adapted to the unique needs of people with schizophrenia as distinct from other clinical disorders in order to create a “disorder-relevant” version of CBT.
Procedure: Clinical outcomes including psycho-social functioning, severity of symptoms, attainment of treatment goals and hospitalisations were assessed periodically over the three years of treatment and the patient was followed up one year later; the CBT sessions lasted anything from 15 minutes to an hour or more dependent on the client’s current condition. The therapist and client would go for walks during the sessions when Carol was agitated or lethargic. There were 4 phases to the treatment; socialisation, the early phase, the middle phase and the ending phase each of which need careful summarising.
Findings: Results indicated considerable improvement in psychosocial functioning, achievement of goals, reduction of symptomatology and number of hospitalisations and maintenance of treatment gains at the 6 month and 12 month follow-ups. There are a variety of quantitative findings which can be easily learnt.
Conclusion: CBT is a potentially useful intervention in the treatment of schizophrenia and to help with stress management in order to prevent relapse and facilitate the recovery process. It has shown that CBT is not just useful in brief treatment of delusions and hallucinations but can help with the multiple problems experienced by clients in recovery. The study was helpful in identifying schemas which mediated the clients ability to cope with the impact of schizophrenia which can then be worked on in treatment and demonstrates that further qualitative work needs to be done to reveal whether these schema are similar in other clients with schizophrenia.
Evaluating Bradshaw:
Once you have read the paper with care and answered the reading comprehension questions, you should be better placed to evaluate the study according to G, R, A, V and E.
Classroom Activities:
Stress thermometer image for classroom wall: stressometer
PSOB “Pat self on back” worksheet to use with pupils as example of CBT HW: Pat Self on Back
Assessment Questions:
Name one study from clinical psychology other than Rosenhan (1973); Evaluate the main research method that was used in this clinical study. Do not evaluate the study itself, only the research method. Research method being evaluated: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. (5)
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