[Treatment of chronic psychiatric disorders. Ethical and anthropological aspects]

This paper outlines an approach to assessing chronicity in psychiatric disorders, which represents a challenge for clinical practice. We began by accepting conclusions from well accepted anthropological and clinical studies of patients with chronic psychiatric disorders. Based on such key conclusions, we formulated several assumptions centred round anthropological concepts as a comprehension tool. Such an anthropological framework might improve orientation in the clinical evaluation of chronic psychiatric disorders. Ethical implications resulting from the above approach are discussed, specifically those revolving around the concept of "problematic people". Based on these considerations, ten practical concepts concerning the recovery from chronic psychiatric illness are discussed.