Does Participation in Psychosocial Treatment Augment the Benefit of Clozapine?

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Abstract
THIS STUDY examines the relationship of concomitant participation in psychosocial treatment to the outcome of pharmacotherapy with clozapine. During the last decade, the efficacy of clozapine has been well established in refractory patients.1-7 A recent review8 concluded that clozapine reduces positive symptoms (eg, hallucinations, delusions), while its efficacy for negative symptoms (eg, blunted affect, motor retardation) is subject to debate.9-12 In a recent 15-site, 12-month randomized trial7 of clozapine and haloperidol, we found significant improvement in quality of life (QOL) among patients who continued treatment for a full year. A major advantage of clozapine is that patients experience a far lower incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) than with other medications,7,13 potentially improving treatment compliance.