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Background. A constant effort is observed all over the world to displace treatment from mental hospitals and other long stay institutions to a community form of care. Community care is poorly developed in Poland. This induces surveys estimating the effectiveness of community care recently formed. Aim. The aim was to estimate the efficacy of a new community model of treatment of patients with schizophrenia. It was expected that community care decreases hospitalizations and enables better functioning in the environment, which in turn improves their quality of life. Method. The study was carried out on 37 patients and 25 caregivers assessed at the referral to the community care and after one year in care. The study uses PANSS, Birchwood Scale and the Quality of Life Scale. Polish questionnaires: Family Burden Questionnaire and Questionnaire of Burdensome Behaviour were used to measure family burden in the patients' and their relatives' views. The focus group was used to evaluate treatment satisfaction. Cost assessment was made using the data form Administrative Departure of the institution. Results. Improvement in psychic state, contacts with family and satisfaction from life were achieved. Reduction in destructive behaviours was noted. Improvement occurred in withdrawal and undertaking social roles. Reduction in costs occurred due to a major decrease in the length of hospitalisations. Conclusions. Community care enables social inclusion through improving social functioning and subjective quality of life and sense of freedom. The community model is cost effective as a result of reduction of hospitalisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Relationship between therapist and his patient remain the principle in psychiatric health care, being related to the treatment course and results. Sustaining a good therapeutic relationship is a key element in community team work, it promotes the creation and maintaining of the therapeutic bond, trust, good contact with patients, which allows outpatient treatment. Authors explore how the therapeutic relationship is estimated by the patients diagnosed with psychosis and their therapists., Method: STAR questionnaire was used to measure the therapeutic relationship in patient's and therapist's perspective., Results: Those patients who has children or other experience of a close relationship estimate higher their relationship with therapist. There is an influence of patient's gender, independence and psychiatric symptoms on the therapeutic relationship from the therapist's perspective. Therapist's positive collaboration effects symptoms improvement in patients diagnosed with psychosis., Conclusions: The therapists have to be aware of the other than therapeutic factors which influence the relationship with the patient. There is a need of further studies on therapeutic relationship because the study point out that a positive relationship reduce the psychotic symptoms. It is particularly important to distinguish factors favouring therapeutic relationship maintenance as well as those causing negative effect on therapeutic relationship.