Combined use of psychotherapy and drugs in chronic, treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients. A retrospective study.
This retrospective study attempts to document in objective terms--not definitively prove--the phenomenon noted clinically of new signs of improvement emerging in chronic treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients when initially withdrawn from medication and then subsequently remedicated after a prolonged regressive phase. Correlations made from independent ratings on several measures tend to support two hypotheses: first, new signs of improvement will emerge both symptomatically and in overall clinical improvement; and second, this improvement after remedication will correlate with the patient's progression in a primitive psychotherapeutic relatedness. The discussion emphasizes the tentative nature of the findings and focuses on questions for further study, particularly the need for further clarification of what may be the crucial components of the unmedicated regression, whether active, "placebo promoting" aspects are important or passive, "breakdown and rebuilding" components are important, or both. It is also particularly unclear whether the period of unmedicated regression is absolutely necessary, or can be circumvented under certain conditions.
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents