Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy in Chronic Schizophrenia
LESTER GRINSPOON M.D.1,
JACK R. EWALT M.D.2, , and
RICHARD SHADER M.D.3
1 Director of psychiatry (research), Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Road, Boston, Mass. 02115, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
2 Superintendent, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Road, Boston, Mass. 02115, Bullard professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
3 Senior research psychiatrist, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Road, Boston, Mass. 02115, associate in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
The relative merits of psychotherapy alone and psychotherapy in conjunction with phenothiazine therapy were investigated in the treatment of 20 chronic schizophrenic patients. Psychotherapy alone produced no demonstrable change over a two-year period in the nondrug group. The combination of drug and psychotherapy reduced florid symptomatology and seemed, for some patients, to promote sensitivity in responding to loss and to make the patients more receptive to communication with therapists and others. The authors conclude that phenothiazine therapy is one of the most useful tools now available in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia.
