Patients' own contributions to long-term supportive psychotherapy in schizophrenic disorders

The paper describes a study based on the Nordic multi-centre research project NIPS. In the Norwegian part, based on one-year screening and sampling of all new schizophrenic cases in a catchment area in Oslo, patients and therapists were interviewed after 2-3 years. Some patients seemed to have played a much more active part in establishing and breaking therapeutic contacts and in setting the terms for the relationship than is usually acknowledged. In the interviews at five-year follow-up, many patients produced viewpoints on their psychotherapeutic experiences that seem to be very important in relation to therapy.