I do not know your mother (or whether she is indeed psychotic), but this paragraph betrays a serious misunderstanding of what psychosis is and how it is (effectively) treated. Even the Fruedians gave up the misguided notion that schizophrenics can be "talked out of" their psychoses, oh, about 50 years ago.
While I think it fairly obvious that a schizophrenic being treated with anti-psychotics could benefit from talk therapy to understand and come to terms with the emotional and social factors and fallout of such a devastating illness, I am unaware of any large scale success at treating this disease with talk therapy alone.
One of my oldest friends, someone I've know for 30 years, was a psychiatric nurse married to a psychiatrist both working at a well known teaching hospital in the NE US. She had access to any and all forms of therapy. Since her first 'break', the only times she has been marginally well enough to function socially has been when she has been on one or the other of the phenothiazines. Unfortunately, her professional qualifications do not render her any more immune to the vicious cycle that so many (esp. psychotic) psychiatric patients suffer:
Acute phase --> Medication --> Improvement --> Unpleasant Side effects --> Stop taking meds 'cuz I'm OK now --> Relapse --> lather, rinse, and repeat.
What is really tragic about this cycle is that once one stops taking a phenothiazine that was effective, resuming treatment treatment will not normally be as effective as it was the first time. If you repeat this cycle often enough and cycle through enough drugs, they all quit working very well or at all. Unfortunately, my friend is in that state now...
Also, I think you overestimate the cost of thorazine and underestimate the cost of psychotherapy. I haven't gone shopping lately, but I think $150/hr is not very expensive for a Psy. D. or MD doing talk therapy. Do you know how much stelazine you can buy with $150?
> I don't think anyone objects to using drugs during the
> acute phase of "mental illness" so as to enable the
> patient to work with a therapist...but otherwise, I would
> not advise any friend to take that route.
Why? If I didn't know better I would assume this is typical USer puritanism that so often accuses users of mood altering drugs to be morally defective. So what is your objection now that you know money isn't the issue?
-- no Onan
"superior sound quality"