6. The Interactionist Approach

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we explore the ‘interactionist approach’ to schizophrenia as an approach which takes account of both biological and psychological factors, focusing in particular on: (i) the diathesis-stress model which suggests that both a pre-existing vulnerability and the presence of stressors in the environment are necessary to trigger schizophrenia; (ii) specific environmental triggers which play a role in schizophrenia, looking at major life events, substance abuse and stress.

Course

In this course, Mr Kevin Silber (University of Derby) explores different aspects of the severe mental health condition schizophrenia, including its characteristics, causes and available treatments. In the first lecture, we consider the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and debunk some common myths about the illness. In the second lecture, we think about the possible biological causes of schizophrenia. In the third lecture, we explore the psychological aspects of the condition. Next, we take a closer look at the different drug treatments that have been used to help those suffering from schizophrenia. In the fifth lecture, we consider psychological treatments, such as family therapy, CBT and token economies. In the sixth and final lecture, we think about the ‘interactionist approach’ to schizophrenia as an approach which takes account of both biological and psychological factors in understanding and treating the illness.

Lecturer

Mr Kevin Silber is a senior lecturer at the University of Derby where he primarily teaches biological psychology modules. Mr Silber is also an AQA A-Level examiner and is involved in authoring texts for A-Level psychology. Having started life as a neuroscientist, Mr Silber’s research interests still lie in biologically oriented topics. However, his main research interest is now focused on body image. Some of Mr Silber’s recent publications include ‘Working memory in children: A developmental approach to the phonological coding of pictorial material’ (2011) and ‘Sexual orientation and the sleep-wake cycle: A preliminary investigation’ (2000).