OBJECTIVE: Drop-outs, respectively unplanned discharges in psychiatric therapy are often explained by so-called lack of insight into the disease or difficult circumstances of admission. We were interested in the question how often drop outs are noticed in a voluntarily day clinic setting where nearly all psychiatric diseases are treated. METHOD: The charts of all patients discharged in 1998 (n = 65) were screened referring to their mode of discharge. RESULTS: 31 patients (47.7 %) regularly ended their treatment. An unplanned discharge was registered with 34 patients (52.3 %). CONCLUSIONS: The statistically relevant term of drop-out does not appear to be the right one to deal with the individual treatment situation and the motivation for the limitation of treatment. A typology of prematurely ended therapies is developed.
OBJECTIVE: Drop-outs, respectively unplanned discharges in psychiatric therapy are often explained by so-called lack of insight into the disease or difficult circumstances of admission. We were interested in the question how often drop outs are noticed in a voluntarily day clinic setting where nearly all psychiatric diseases are treated. METHOD: The charts of all patients discharged in 1998 (n = 65) were screened referring to their mode of discharge. RESULTS: 31 patients (47.7 %) regularly ended their treatment. An unplanned discharge was registered with 34 patients (52.3 %). CONCLUSIONS: The statistically relevant term of drop-out does not appear to be the right one to deal with the individual treatment situation and the motivation for the limitation of treatment. A typology of prematurely ended therapies is developed.