Technique with Schizophrenic Patients

I knew ping-nie pao for many years, both professionally and socially. I was still on the staff at Chestnut Lodge during his early years there. Our viewpoints coincided on many things, but there were also significant differences—for instance, in our approaches to the question of human development and how it affects the conceptualization of schizophrenic phenomena (Pao, 1980; Schulz, 1980a).

I have chosen to focus here on issues of technique in the treatment of schizophrenic patients because this aspect is not dealt with very fully in Pao's book (1979). He notes: “Details of the intricacies of psychotherapeutic interactions would have expanded the book enormously” (p. xiv). Yet it is my impression that these “details” need to be stated explicitly in order to translate theoretical constructs into practical application. Moreover, such principles of technique become highly individualized, varying with the therapist's personality. In reading some of Pao's suggestions for intervention, for example, one should take into account his own enormous gentleness in approaching people. Such a style, of course, is not suited to the temperament of many therapists.

Before turning to specific matters of technique, however, some general comments on Pao's ideas are needed. One issue to be at