The Therapist—Patient Relationship with Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

Schizophrenic patients seem to react sensitively to expressed affect. Expressed emotion research has shown the negative impact of specific family communication styles on the course of illness. This paper reviews and discusses related research on the therapist–patient relationship. Two studies by the author are presented. The first study is an examination of therapist rating of the therapist–patient relationship, the interaction between therapist's ratings and patient's psychopathology, and the prediction of the course of illness from therapist ratings. The second study assesses the therapist–relative–patient triad using EE measures, as well as dyadic assessment of the therapist–patient relationship.