Intermittent Medication, Coping and Psychotherapy Interactions in Relapse Prevention and Course Modification

There has been increasing interest in intermittent medication as a viable alternative to continuous neuroleptic treatment for chronic schizophrenic patients. Considerations supporting the plausibility of a targeted-medication approach include the fact that long-term medication involves certain risks, and that neither favourable outcome in the long-term nor risk of relapse are necessarily dependent on the continuous administration of neuroleptic drugs. An intermittent-targeted administration strategy was developed by Herz et al (1989) in an attempt to abort relapses at an early stage and to stabilise or to improve the course taken by illness.