Psychodynamic therapy for non-compliance: a case report

Objectives:This paper outlines the use of psychodynamic psychotherapy as an adjunct to treatment as usual for addressing challenging behaviours in a patient with schizophrenia under the care of a community mental health team (CMHT) in South Australia.Methods:Ms P suffered from schizophrenia and demonstrated challenging behaviours in the context of being administered depot medication under a community treatment order (CTO). Multiple attempts at addressing non-compliance and consistently disruptive behaviour through conventional methods had failed. Consequently, the novel approach of fortnightly psychodynamic psychotherapy sessions was trialled for 5 months, augmenting treatment as usual.Results:Psychodynamic psychotherapy proved effective for this patient. With treatment, she showed an improved compliance and overall engagement. Additionally, consequent to regularly receiving medication, her mental state improved and hospitalisations decreased.Conclusions:Further research could lead to a better understandi...