2023 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 339-345
The authors encountered dialogical practice while addressing psychiatric issues such as long-term hospitalization in a single-patient psychiatric hospital; in 2019, a multidisciplinary dialogical practice unit was created with an eye toward community transitions. Through various trials and errors, the central theme was fostering a psychotherapeutic community. Treatment meetings, based on a bi-weekly basis, were held repeatedly with the individuals concerned and others involved. As the meetings continued, all voices were valued and emotions were exchanged. During the relationships, what had been considered symptoms and problematic behaviors were reinterpreted or assigned new significance. As a result, 17 of the 35 participants were discharged to their homes and other facilities in a little more than three years. The average use of antipsychotic drugs (chlorpromazine equivalent) decreased from 954.8±712.4 mg/day (September 2019) to 621.2±349.2 mg/day (March 2023). The feasibility of psychiatric care with an awareness of the dialogical practice and the resourcefulness of the client, the family, and the treatment team was experienced.
