Exploring the compatibility of biomedical and psychological approaches to treating psychosis

Abstract

The recent UK clinical guidelines for psychosis require an integration of biomedical and psychological treatment approaches that may present challenges to the structure and delivery of services. This review briefly outlines these two approaches before presenting arguments both for and against their compatibility. Although this discussion recognises attempts at integrating the approaches in modern mainstream services, it argues that their fundamental theoretical differences entail very different treatment methods, and often require conflicting demands of clients. Not only is this potentially confusing and unhelpful to the clients, but it also interferes with the goals and processes of each approach. Some of the main challenges to integration are discussed, and suggestions are made regarding the future direction of multidisciplinary treatments for psychosis. This review argues that an open, critical examination of existing professional models and practices is required to ensure that optimal service provision.

Keywords:

• causal explanations
• treatment planning
• clinical psychology
• formulation
• biochemical theories