Management of combined psychotherapy and pharmacological treatment. A 'cross sectional' study on a selected sample of psychiatrists

Aims. The association between pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy is frequent. However doesn't exist any agreement or guide-line about the management of this combined therapy. Therefore we considered useful to evaluate which were the most frequent way of management of the combined therapy in a sample of 120 psychiatrists. Materials and Methods. A 10-items questionnaire finalized to explore the management way of the combined therapy was administered to a sample of 120 psychiatrists. A descriptive analysis of the data was made and the association between different variables was explored. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 13.0 (R). Results. 35% of the sample work as a private practitioner, 19.17% is involved in public health (CMHT'S). More than 50% of the sample consider the combined therapy as a effective. In the public field the combined treatment turn out to be the most utilized, opposite than in private practice. 75% of the sample manage alone the combined therapy, while 25% work in team with a colleague. 85% of the pharmacotherapy is utilized in psychosis with positive symptoms, followed by the mood disorder with psychotic symptoms. Neuroleptics are the most frequently prescribed drug. Conclusions. The combined therapy seems to be useful when coherently with the psychotherapy theory model. The pharmacological treatment should be utilized when strictly necessary and, if is possible, the combined therapy should be managed by one psychiatrist. Clin Ter 2009; 160(3):e39-e42