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Medication — compliance or alliance? A client-centred approach to increasing adherence

  • Chapter
Schizophrenia

Abstract

Therapists routinely expect compliance with treatment. ‘Non-compliance’ is often attributed to negative personality characteristics. However, the concept of ‘compliance’ ignores some of the client’s rights, difficulties in taking medication, the therapist’s responsibility for the interaction, and the possible disadvantages or limitations of treatments. Clients may decide not to ‘comply’ for many valid reasons, including their activities, values and other situational, social and environmental variables not always explored by health professionals. Research suggests that it is the latter variables, not general personality factors, which lead to non-adherence to medication (Peck and King, 1985). The implicit assumption that professionals are always right is contradicted by the evidence that large proportions of them do not fully carry out their responsibilities regarding patients’ medications (Ley, 1982; Peck and King, 1985). In schizophrenia, for example, some studies show problems in prescribing, such as persistent prescription of doses which are no longer appropriate (Clark and Holden, 1987), and rapidly fluctuating over- or under-prescribing at times of organizational stress (Gouse, 1984).

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Authors
  1. Olga Piatkowska
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  2. Doug Farnill
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Sydney, Australia

    David J. Kavanagh Dip.Psychol. PhD (Senior Lecturer in Psychology) (Senior Lecturer in Psychology)

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Piatkowska, O., Farnill, D. (1992). Medication — compliance or alliance? A client-centred approach to increasing adherence. In: Kavanagh, D.J. (eds) Schizophrenia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-4457-3_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-4457-3_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-38900-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-4457-3

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