[Longterm treatment of schizophrenia]

Schizophrenic psychoses are among the most severe psychiatric illnesses and, in the majority of cases require several years of treatment, sometimes even for the rest of the patient's life. Of decisive importance for successful treatment is the involvement of all those concerned in a combined treatment strategy that includes pharmacological, psychotherapeutic and rehabilitative measures. The therapeutic aims are the reduction of symptoms, the prevention of relapses, and social and occupational reintegration. In pharmacotherapy, the latest antipsychotic agents have proven beneficial for relapse prophylaxis. Inadequate compliance, which is quite common, endangers the success of treatment. Psycho-educative measures that include family members can improve the acceptance of the illness and the readiness to undergo treatment and, together with psycho- and sociotherapeutic methods, can reduce symptoms and relapses.