[Narcissistic depression in schizophrenia]

In individual analytically oriented psychotherapy as a research method, observing a random sample of 34 schizophrenics with the symptoms of depressive syndrome, the author has found that depression in schizophrenia is determined by narcissistic injuries, by a collapse of narcissistic satisfactions through the loss of "ego" functions, completeness, competitiveness, and competence. The depressive model is most frequently encountered in florid schizophrenic psychosis, at the beginning of hospitalization, but depending on the intensity and depth of narcissistic traumas and losses, it can develop also in any phase of the therapeutic process and the course of illness. In the author's view, the depressive model in schizophrenia is not conditioned by the neuroleptic treatment. Its recognition is very important for the therapy of suicidal tendencies, and for their prevention in particular.