The authors present three case vignettes in which inpatients with
schizophrenia participated in psychotherapy sessions that included three
phases: 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 therapist, and the
patient was able to look at the computer screen to review what was said.
Clinical observation was used to determine patients' frequency of
delusional symptoms during the first two phases. For all three patients,
the frequency of delusional symptoms decreased from the first to the second
phase. The computer, by visually representing words, may facilitate
communication by compensating for deficits in auditory processing,
information processing, attention, and memory often found among patients
with schizophrenia.
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