The therapeutic system as viewed by depressive inpatients and outcome: an expanded study.
In an expansion of a previous study, we examined in which way depressive inpatients' views of psychiatrists' and significant others' attitudes toward the severity of their illness were related to outcome. Fifty-six patients were asked a two-part question--"Who regards your illness as being more severe: (a) you or your significant others; (b) you or your psychiatrist?" Two subsamples of patients were identified: those who viewed the psychiatrists' and significant others' attitudes as similar and those who viewed them as dissimilar. Both groups showed substantial and significant improvement during hospital treatment; but the group that viewed the attitudes held by psychiatrists and significant others as dissimilar had significantly fewer depressive symptoms by the end of a 3-month followup period. The findings were consistent with those of the original study, and with the hypothesis as derived from the Mental Research Institute brief therapy principles.
Priebe
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Department of Social Psychiatry, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
Pommerien
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002140:California; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome