Schmidt discussed the case of Camila (not her real name), who entered the program in September 2001, when she was 14. "Camila and her family stuck with PIER for the four-year treatment program, which ended formally in 2005, and still keep in touch with counselors there," he reports.
However, "Camila's health still hinges on antipsychotic medication," Schmidt says. "In the summer of 2007 she went off the drugs for a spell and her strange feelings returned."
He notes that her reliance on antipsychotics raises issues. "On the one hand, it shows that the threat of psychosis hasn't really been removed, it's just been held in check."
"What we hope is that the benefits of treatment will be lifelong," McFarlane says in the article. "We don't have any empirical evidence to support that yet, but what we've seen is that young people who still haven't converted to psychosis after about three years of our treatment don't seem to be at much risk."
While he suggests that over time, some patients may be able to go off medications, McFarlane acknowledges that PIER hasn't developed a plan for managing that process, Schmidt reports.
"As to when or if they can go off medication, that's hard to say," he told Schmidt. "I think many of our patients don't feel a need to stop; they certainly don't feel oppressed by it. At a certain point it becomes a personal choice."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
