COMPUTER-FACILITATED THERAPY FOR INPATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

The authors present three case vignettes in which inpatients with schi zophrenia participated in psychotherapy sessions that included three p hases: traditional verbal psychotherapy, computer-facilitated therapy, and recapitulation of the session. In the computer-facilitated phase, the therapist typed the conversation between the patient and therapis t, and the patient was able to look at the computer screen to review w hat was said. Clinical observation was used to determine patients' fre quency of delusional symptoms during the first two phases, For all thr ee patients, the frequency of delusional symptoms decreased fi om the first to the second phase. The computer, by visually representing word s, may facilitate communication by compensating for deficits in audito ry processing, information processing, attention, and memory often fou nd among patients with schizophrenia.