[Coping and compensation strategies of patients with disseminated encephalomyelitis and of patients with schizophrenic psychoses].

In ten patients with schizophrenic psychosis and ten patients with multiple sclerosis, the coping and compensation strategies were examined by means of semistructured interviewing. The following categories were considered: 1. avoidance; 2. habituation and/or adaptation to the disease; 3. efforts to compensate the deficits by will-power; 4. efforts to train certain types of behaviour; 5. self-treatment; 6. disease awareness and insight. Examples for these categories are given for both groups of patients. There is a surprising similarity in the statements made by the schizophrenic patients and those with multiple sclerosis. All of the patients with multiple sclerosis had developed coping strategies against psychological symptoms. It is suggested that the neuropsychological deficits in multiple sclerosis resemble the symptoms of reduced energetic potential observed in schizophrenia. In both groups efforts should be made to activate the compensation strategies by adequate training procedures.