Long Acting Injectables and their Correlation with Subjectivity in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Nowadays, mental illness can no longer be considered as a mere list of symptoms corresponding to localized brain dysfunctions but rather as a disturbance of the patient's subjectivity. Thus, a solid, qualitative study of patients' subjectivity could represent a useful tool in the complex evaluation of efficacy of pharmacotherapy in schizophrenic persons. In this perspective, authors performed a phenomenological oriented investigation on 49 patients, diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, who were receiving long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic therapy. From data analysis, authors found a positive correlation between general psychopathology and the use of LAI antipsychotic therapies. The present study highlighted the necessity of a careful investigation of patients' subjectivity in a phenomenological way as an irreducible part of both psychopathological and psychopharmacological matters.

Keywords: long-acting injectables; phenomenology; psychopathology; schizophrenia; subjectivity.