A holistic program for chronic schizophrenic patients.

A 10-week, inhospital holistic health program for male schizophrenic patients was compared with an equally intense social skills training program. The holistic program included training in the stress reduction techniques of exercise and meditation as well as education in stress management. Patients were also encouraged to explore the growth potential of their psychotic experiences and to develop positive beliefs about the outcome of their illness. Both groups showed similar significant decreases in psychopathology from admission to discharge, but the use of medication and a token economy milieu by all patients confounds the interpretability of this finding. After the holistic patients were discharged into the community, there was no maintenance of any of the holistic techniques. The 2-year relapse rate did not differ significantly between the two treatments. Findings from various studies associating schizophrenic relapse with stressful life events and familial tension make further experimentation with stress reduction techniques for the treatment of schizophrenia worthwhile.