Abstract
Although the value of specific treatment programmes in psychiatric day care is usually self-evident, the less overt benefits of attendance, such as relief from loneliness, are less obvious. A study is described which investigated the acceptability to patients of a structured approach to day care and whether less formal gains could be attributed to such an approach. Results of interviews with 35 ex-day-patients showed overwhelming support for a structured approach which, as a by-product, provided a number of incidental benefits. There was little support for the drop-in method of day care and a small group of patients who had difficulties with social interaction would have preferred treatment on a sessional basis.
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