A controlled study of 5 years' treatment with psychotherapy in combination with depot neuroleptics in schizophrenia. II. Personality changes measured by ten selected Rorschach variables

Abstract

Fourteen chronic schizophrenics (experimental group) were matched with 13 schizophrenics (control group), with respect to sex, age, and time of first admission for the disease. The patients in the experimental group were treated with depot neuroleptics in combination with psychotherapy in a 5 year treatment programme. The control group were mainly treated with broad-spectrum neuroleptics and no structured psychotherapy. The main aim of this study was to investigate personality changes in these groups after 5 years' treatment, as measured by ten selected Rorschach (Ro) variables. Five control patients refused to be tested before the study. At the evaluation 5 years later, 3 had committed suicide and one had moved to another town and could not be tested. In the experimental group 1 patient committed suicide. Compared to the results before treatment, the experimental group's mean total scores on the 10 Ro variables after 5 years' treatment were significantly changed in a direction indicative of improvement (p less than 0.001). The control patients changed significantly in a direction indicative of deterioration (p less than 0.02). The differences in mean total scores between the 2 groups were statistically significant (p less than 0.001), in favour of the experimental group. This study has shown improved intellectual capacity, ego-strength and better ability for reality testing when psychotherapy was combined with depot neuroleptics, compared to schizophrenics treated with neuroleptics but no structured psychotherapy.