The attitude of Polish psychiatrists to psychotherapy as a form of treatment in psychiatry: re-study in 2018
Abstract
Introduction: Psychotherapy is widely used method of treatment in psychiatry. The aim of our study was to evaluate the
amendment of polish psychiatrists’ attitude to this method of therapy of mental disorders after 3 years from the first study.
Material and methods: A special on-line questionnaire was prepared for the purpose of a series of such studies
carried out in Poland this years and three years before. Questions pertained to plans or already completion course
in psychotherapy, knowledge in this area and about different types of it, opinion about psychotherapy as a form
of treatment and using it in daily medical practice among their patients.
Results: Study conducted in 2018 includes 196 psychiatrists and psychiatric trainees (women 62%, man 38%)
with clinical experience in psychiatry varied from half a year to 54 years. Most of study group work in hospitals
(n = 94.48%), in private outpatient centers (n = 43.22%) and in outpatient centers in public sector (n = 57.29%).
Most of responders are not psychotherapists (74%) and 51 psychiatrists in study group work also as psychotherapists
(26%); 24% respondents declared readiness to participate in psychotherapy course in the future and
31% in that group participated in psychotherapy training in the past. The biggest wish to improve skills declared
responders who had participated in psychotherapy courses before. Psychiatrists who are also psychotherapists
did not declared any neutrals or negative opinions about including psychotherapy in treatment (Chi2 = 16.79,
p < 0.001, V = 0.29). They also more often recommend psychotherapy without initiating any form of pharmacotherapy
to their patients (Chi2 = 9.62, p = 0.05, V = 0.22). In the end, there was made a comparison between
these two results and present it in discussion in order to demonstrate the differences.
Conclusions: Psychiatrists who are also psychotherapists choose psychotherapy as the only form of treatment of mental
disorders more often than psychiatrists without psychotherapeutic background and these are the results which didn’t
change after 3 years. The general trend shown in the previous survey has remained: about 80% doctors recommended
psychotherapy as a method of treatment one-third of their patients. This year study showed that, from all the answers,
more than a half of them recommended psychotherapy to the half of the patients. In previous study it was only 39%.
Keywords: psychotherapyattitudepsychiatrists
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