Most psychiatric disorders remain with the patient throughout life, and some, such as mood disorders or phobias, tend to have intermittent episodes. Schizophrenia is mostly a chronic, ongoing illness, and the problem of long-term maintenance treatment becomes inescapable. Recurrent relapses of schizophrenia and mood disorders can result in clinical complexity, chronicity, difficulty in treatment, repeated hospitalizations, unemployment, increased expenses, marital breakdown, secondary medical complications, exacerbation of illness, and even occasional death. Repeated psychotic relapses are also accompanied by many long-term negative outcomes as well as progressive deterioration. in his article on the impact of antipsychotic treatment on the natural course of schizophrenia, Wyatt mentions that “there is evidence that a relapse after discontinuation of medication in a patient with stable schizophrenia is difficult to return to his previous level of functioning.” With each relapse, mental illness becomes more difficult to treat. Of particular note is the fact that monophasic and biphasic mood disorders should be treated with even more caution. Relapses after discontinuation of maintenance treatment can, in some cases, become intractable patients.