THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE-PSYCHOSIS WITHOUT NEUROLEPTICS - 6-WEEK PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OUTCOME DATA FROM THE SOTERIA PROJECT

Background: Today's treatment of acute psychosis usually includes short-term hospitalization and anti-psychotic drug treatment. The Soteria project compared this form of treatment (control) with that of a small, home-like social environment, usually without neuroleptics (experimental). Method: Newly diagnosed, young, unmarried persons with DSM-II schizophrenia were randomly assigned to treatment in two experimental and two control settings. Subjects and families were assessed at admission on 29 independent variables. Treatment environments were studied by means of Moos', COPES or WAS scales. Three dependent six week psychopathology outcome measures were collected. Results: The groups were comparable on 25 of 29 admission variables. The environments of the two experimental and two control settings were different from each other. The milieus were similar to each other within each condition. At six weeks, psychopathology in both groups had improved significantly, and similarly, and overall change was the same. Conclusion: Specially designed, replicable milieus were able to reduce acute psychotic symptomatology within six weeks, usually without antipsychotic drugs, as effectively as usual hospital ward treatment that included routine neuroleptic drug use.