ArticleBMC psychiatry2023
Medication-free mental health treatment: a focus group study of milieu therapeutic settings.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Facilitating transition between adolescent and adult psychiatry: patient and parent experiences from a jointly run ward for 16-25-year-olds in Germany.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- "Something is clashing" - intentions to offer Medication-Free services within a traditional mental health ward.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- "I want to live life, not just be in it!": a qualitative study on existential aspects of choosing to reduce or stop psychotropic medication.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Article
- Exploring the unconventional: health professionals' experiences into medication-free treatment for patients with severe mental illness.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedication-free treatment within mental health care aims to offer therapeutic support as an alternative to psychotropic medication. Introducing milieu therapy for severely mentally ill persons in a medication-free unit requires significant changes to the traditional medication-based psychiatric setting. The present study examines how milieu therapists experience working with medication-free treatment for people with severe mental health challenges. The research question was "What may be required to succeed with medication-free treatment in milieu therapeutic settings?"
methodsA qualitative study with four focus groups were conducted with 23 milieu therapists from three inpatient units in two mental health institutions. Thematic analysis was performed.
resultsOne main theme was identified: medication-free treatment involves therapists and patients working together on holistic and personal health promotion. This common thread links the four themes: helping patients to make changes in their life; having time to focus on the individual patient; being a professional companion; and working together as a team with the patient.
conclusionsA holistic approach is necessary for medication-free treatment to succeed. This requires working together in multidisciplinary teams with a focus on the individual patient. Milieu therapists must engage and take more responsibility in the patient's process of health promotion. A change from a medical to a humanistic paradigm within mental health care is needed.
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Registered trials
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