Demographic and psychiatric characteristics of the patients treated into a psychotherapeutic community

The aim of the present study is the recording of the characteristics of all patients treated in the Psychotherapeutic Community of the Open Psychotherapy Centre (OPC) from 1980 untill 1999 (n = 816) and the discussion of the parametres which, according the findings, influence the outcome of therapy. It is a retrospective study, based mainly on the archives (records and documents search, psychological tests and re-tests, therapist's and patients' evaluation of the outcome, etc) of the therapeutic sector of the OPC. The data recorded concern the epidemiological characteristics: demographic, (sex, age, education, profession, family situation, father's profession) and the psychiatric/clinical (time of onset of the disease, former hospitalization(s), diagnosis, medication, duration of TC therapy, therapeutic outcome). The findings of this extensive research indicates some factors which are statistically correlated to the outcome, such as previous hospitalization, the duration of therapy, medication, the diagnosis, the gender and the age of onset of the disease. Finally a patient's profile is described, based on those characteristics which are the most common.