Therapeutic intervention with schizophrenic patients and their families: a description of a clinical research project

Brief systemic work in psychiatric settings where a family member has been diagnosed as schizophrenic

“…Obviously, these normalizing statements will not automatically shift a family's beliefs but derive their apparent power from the careful structuring of the context. The idea that the designated patient should be treated 'as normal' contrasts with the approach of Berkowitz (1984), Falloon et al (1981 and other workers using the concept of expressed emotion.…”

Family therapy and psychopathology: developments in research and approaches to treatment

“…However, outcome studies of family therapy inspired by such ideas have remained rather meagre (Gurman et al, 1986). I n a literature review by Berkowitz (1988), only one systematic study was found on the cybernetic (Milan) approach. In this study by Palazzoli and Prata (1983), family therapy conducted with 19 families with members suffering from different forms of schizophrenia was evaluated.…”

Letter to the Editors

“…One element of the High EE construct in particular, overinvolvement, is highly resistant to change. I would suggest that 'the central problem of being unable to tolerate separation, so often seen in these families' (Berkowitz, 1984) requires a much more sophisticated approach if real change is to occur. I believe that the explosion of research into family management can only be fully understood by looking at a higher level of the system, and the need for psychiatrists to maintain the status of 'schizophrenia' as an illness in order to support their dominant role over the field of mental health.…”