Young Schizophrenic Mothers’ Initial Posthospital Adjustment at Home

Abstract

Problems of rehabilitation and reintegration of the hospitalized psychotic patient into family and community have been a focus of growing interest and study in recent years. In a previous paper I described the usefulness of joint patient-family-doctor interviews in preparing the schizophrenic patient’s return to the community. The present paper is intended as a further contribution to the general problems of reintegration of patients into the community, with special reference to the crucial area of mother-child interaction. Indeed, for a patient who has been hospitalized for schizophrenic illness, the initial phase of his posthospital adjustment is a critical moment in his life, because his success or failure in making this transition may determine his future status at home and in the community. If he succeeds, he may gain the confidence he needs to meet the challenge of the complicated, demanding role of an adult