The Role for Psychodynamic Psychiatry in the Treatment of Schizophrenic Patients

Intensive interpersonal therapy of schizophrenia, based on principles of psychotherapeutic or phenomenologic exploration, interests many, but has been the purview of only a few.

Abstract

Intensive interpersonal therapy of schizophrenia, based on principles of psychotherapeutic or phenomenologic exploration, interests many, but has been the purview of only a few. Most psychiatrists (psychoanalysts or not) are not extensively engaged in psychotherapy of patients with psychotic illnesses. Most patients with schizophrenia are treated in circumstances where skilled interpersonal approaches are not provided as a therapeutic option, let alone as an integral aspect of clinical care. This was actually true before antipsychotic medication was the preeminent consideration in treatment, but a major shift in attitude within our profession now places the psychotherapy of schizophrenia in an extremely precarious position.