Patients' and caregivers' initial assessments of day-hospital treatment and course of symptoms.

During the first few days after their admission to a day-hospital, 30 patients with schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorders, their clinical case managers, and the therapeutic team in the day-hospital globally assessed the beginning treatment on visual analog scales (VASs). We investigated whether these assessments predicted observer ratings (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale [BPRS]) and self-ratings of psychopathology during treatment and at discharge. Positive assessments by patients and caregivers were correlated with lower BPRS scores later on in the course of treatment; only the patients' assessments were good predictors of self-rated outcome. Initial global assessments of treatment might indicate qualities of the therapeutic relationship as a relevant nonspecific factor in complex day-hospital treatment.