Clinical philosophy in the treatment of paranoid schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Aim: Clinical philosophy (CP) is an approach to the treatment of mental disorders. The goal of the present study is to put CP to a first empirical testing. Method: I present a case of a patient with paranoid schizophrenia comorbid with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that did not respond to conventional, standard cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Using a single-case pre-test/post-test design, a CP approach was developed drawing heavily on existentialist and philosophy-oriented writers. Results: The client responded well to this novel treatment approach. Above all, levels of intolerance of uncertainty improved greatly from pre - to post-treatment. A decrease in overall illness severity as well as specific psychopathological variables such as obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression and anxiety could be observed. Conclusion: Results are discussed in terms of the underlying mechanism of the CP approach. An account of the underlying mechanism of efficacy, understood as a tripartite function, is introduced. CP as a philosophy-oriented method within the broader framework of third wave CBT and existential analysis is considered.