Psychiatrists’ Reflections on a Medication-free Program for Patients with Psychosis
The aim of this study was to investigate psychiatrists’ reflections on the public medication-free program and how they think it will affect patients’ adherence to antipsychotics generally.
From the Journal of Psychopharmacology 2019, Vol. 33(4) 459–465.
Based on a collective action from a number of Norwegian user organizations for mental health, the Norwegian government demanded the regional health authorities to establish a medication-free treatment option for patients with severe mental illnesses. This change in governmental health policy has several direct implications, including making antipsychotic medication to a greater extent optional for patients with active psychosis. The aim of this study was to investigate psychiatrists’ reflections on the public medication-free program and how they think it will affect patients’ adherence to antipsychotics generally.
Thematic analysis revealed four main interrelated themes. Psychiatrists considered medication-free treatment as an unscientific option for a stigmatized patient group; they believed that the advent of such a program is due to proposals from some dissatisfied users and their supporters and not from the majority of patients; in spite of active psychotic symptoms and lack of insight, patients had a crucial impact on choice of treatment and accordingly on adherence to medication; and psychiatrists reported that they in spite of governmental instructions utilized professionalism against unscientific ideology.
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