Drug-free psychiatric treatment - what do the patients think?

Since 2016, all health regions have been instructed to provide drug-free psychiatric treatment options. The evidence base for such treatment has been called for. At Jæren District Psychiatric Centre we therefore identified the patients' wishes for drug-free treatment.

One hundred patients were sequentially asked upon admission whether they would want a drug-free treatment programme, given that it was available. The patients' age, sex, diagnosis and medical history were recorded, as well as their experience with the use of psychoactive drugs and counselling.

Altogether 52 out of the 100 patients would want a drug-free treatment programme if this were available. The largest proportion was registered among patients who had been coercively sectioned (10 out of 13 patients) and among those who experienced least benefit from their drugs (17 out of 25). Even among those who reported to benefit well from their drugs, a considerable proportion wanted a drug-free option (24 out of 58). The majority of the patients had long illness trajectories and a high consumption of psychoactive drugs.

The observation that a large proportion of the patients would want a drug-free treatment programme if this were available can be seen as a reflection of frustration caused by persistent symptoms, adverse effects and a large burden of suffering despite the use of medication. An alternative interpretation is that the patients had an insufficient understanding of their need for preventive treatment or for their need for treatment at all.