| It is said that there is little change in long-stay chronic schizophrenics in psychiatric wards. But I think that if we come back to them individually and examine their speech and actions, we can find that they are changing, each in his or her own way, to a fuller being. In this paper, through five cases of chronic schizophrenia, I try to verify this view by a phenomenological approach.;For example, in the first case, I paid attention to a patient's nonverbal expressions. In the middle phase of this approach, I was worried about how to cope with his speaking to himself and echolalia. However, my expression that I gave in spite of myself called forth his unexpected reaction; with my surprise as an opportunity, I began to approach the patient in accordance with his behavior. It is because I noticed that speaking to himself and echolalia were part of his way of living too and my prejudice against the symptoms decreased. In such a process, I received this patient as he was, and, as a result, I understood how to use his speaking to himself and echolalia. It is considered to be communication rather than a symptom.;In the second case, I was worried about severe vocalized checking. But, analysis of the data derived from three episodes (scene 1 in November 1998, scene 2 in January 1999, and scene 3 in September 1999), as the scene makes its way from 1 to 3, showed that his speech expressions become abundant, and the scope appears in his action, and he seems to have learned a knack to live in the ward.;Long-stay chronic schizophrenics look to be passive, but, as these cases suggest, there are signs of self-formation in their speech and actions.;Therefore, nurses have to trust in the patients' human growth and promote their sense of security in the ward. I think that, by means of this, nurses can bring out a patient's potential, and contribute to recovery. |
