[Alternative forms of treatment of psychiatric patients].

In the Psychiatric Department of Frederiksberg Hospital, 115 of all 153 admitted patients were interviewed about their use of alternative treatment. Information obtained from the interviews was compared with data in the case records. Of the 115 patients interviewed, 42% had used alternative treatment at least once, while 17% had used alternative treatment within the past three months before the interview. Herbal medicine was the most frequent type of treatment. Nearly one half of the patients wanted treatment because of somatic problems. The frequency of alternative treatment decreased with age. Compared to the entire investigation group, those diagnosed as manic-depressive used alternative treatment more frequently, while schizophrenic patients used this kind of treatment less often. The patients most satisfied with the psychiatric department used alternative treatment less frequently. Use of alternative treatment was not related to duration of disease, or whether the patients were in the ward 24 hours or only during day-time. Only 19 of the 48 patients who had used alternative treatment had paid more than 1,000 Dkr. (approximately pounds 85) in all for the treatment, and only three patients had paid more than 1,000 Dkr. during the past three months. Women had paid relatively more for their treatment than men.