Revisiting Current Approaches of Treatment and Outcomes

A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in community-based centers that have developed nonmedical treatment approaches and programs for people with profound disorders of thought, emotions, and relationships. This report focuses in the users' perspective. It addresses the complex issue of improvement and change associated with the treatment. The users views about their treatment experiences are reported through semistructured interviews. Users' narratives describe different forms of improvement and change associated with their attendance at these community treatment centers. The transformations evoked cluster around a few recurring topics: the experience of oneself, the relationships with others, the reasons for living and their personal stance toward the common world. The findings of this exploratory study put forward a number of indications for both psychiatric practice and research. They confirm the importance of reinforcing holistic and human approaches to treatment. Similarly, they suggest that ...