Patients' subjective experiences on antipsychotic medications: implications for outcome and quality of life.

The phenomenon of subjective response to antipsychotic medications in schizophrenia was reviewed, focusing on validity, measurement, implications for clinical outcome and quality of life. Recommendations were made on improvements in research approaches to important factors that may contribute to the genesis of this phenomenon. Clinicians should pay attention to the subjective complaints of their patients about medications and not ignore them as unreliable. Researchers should not dismiss research into subjective experiences as non-scientific, because it provides valuable information on recognizing psychopathology and for improving the management of patients.