[Evaluation of psychiatric treatment by patients--a study of assessment and stability over time]

The principal results and methodological problems of the Anglo-American research on patient's satisfaction with psychiatric treatment are summarised. This study aimed at investigating whether simple quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the patient's view of treatment yield similar results, and to which extent that view changes over time. 53 patients in a community care system were questioned on their view of treatment twice with a period of 20 months between the two interviews. Visual analogue scales and open questions were used for assessment. On the average, the patients' views of treatment as a whole and of different aspects were positive. There was no significant correlation between the patients' views at the two points of time. Patients' view was related to psychopathological symptoms and changed along with changes of symptoms over time; patients with more severe symptoms expressed a more negative view and wished more changes of treatment. Consequences of the findings for assessment of psychiatric treatment via the patients' view are discussed.