EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIA - CONCEPTUAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

TO IDENTIFY and start treatment of schizophrenic patients at an early stage has been a matter of growing interest in recent years (Alanen 19 94; Birchwood 1992; Docherty et al. 1978; Falloon 1992; Lieberman et a l. 1993). However, we are not aware of any controlled study definitive ly concluding that early treatment of schizophrenia is favorable. Many researchers discuss the topic, for example, regarding outcome and pro gnosis (Falloon 1992) or treatment response (Alanen 1994; Lieberman et al. 1993). In this article we take a closer look at the idea of early treatment of schizophrenia by analyzing the concept of early schizoph renia/early psychosis at an epistemological level and discuss related ethical problems.