A group approach to psychopharmacology with schizophrenics

Theoretical and practical issues involved in integrating pharmacotherapy and psychosocial therapy in a long-term day hospital for schizophrenics are addressed. The limitations and risks of relying too heavily on a biomedical conceptual framework are discussed. In addition to diagnosis, target symptoms, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics, individual interpersonal, family, and institutional dynamics can exert profound effects on the effectiveness of medication. Through case illustrations it is shown how an open systems model and a group approach can allow for an integration of the many variables involved in the medication process. A weekly medication group which emphasizes education, informed choice, patient responsibility, and the examination of the boundary between medication effect and the need for psychological work is described. It is shown that the chemical control of psychosis alone may reinforce the psychosocial aspects of the schizophrenic syndrome. A distinction is drawn between chemical control of psychosis and the sensitive use of medication as a facilitator of growth-promoting psychosocial treatment.