Followup treatment and aftercare of discharged schizophrenic patients

A program of sociotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment of discharged schizophrenic patients is described. An important aspect of the aftercare program is the use of volunteers recruited from the community. The volunteers participate in an educational program, in which they meet schizophrenic patients and receive information about the symptomatology and treatment of psychosis. As a result of this program, many lasting relationships are formed between patients and volunteers. In addition to such sociotherapeutic approaches, discharged patients also require a systematic program of pharmacotherapy. Particular emphasis is placed on the dosage and application intervals of long-term neuroleptics. A handwriting test developed by the author is used to establish the neuroleptic threshold--i.e., the minimum dose a patient needs to compensate psychotic agitation and yet to avoid the sedative major tranquilizer effect.