A few days ago, in the Free John discussion, I posted several links to some alternative programs that relied on minimal or no medication. Specifically: Diabasis, Open Dialogue Treatment, Soteria House and a small study that was done in Turku Finland. The link is here: http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=144259

Do be aware there are some other links there that discuss some of the more serious side effects of treatment with neuroleptic medications. My own thoughts on medications is that it's most ideal if we can help people through their crisis with no medication. Barring that, if we can help them with minimal medication with the intention of helping them safely withdraw once the crisis has passed.

Nonetheless, there are many people who identify medication as a helpful tool. I don't think people should ever apologize for making use of any tool that actually helps them. If they're not helping you or the personal risks have become too high, that's a different sort of problem and one that will require a solution. For that reason, it can be helpful to explore what other people are doing because this allows you to expand your repertoire of coping tools.

In my Voices of Recovery blog there are personal accounts from people who no longer use meds (i.e. psychiatrist, Daniel Fisher), people who make use of meds on an as needed basis (i.e. psychologist, Patricia Deegan) and people who make use of meds on a more sustained basis (i.e. Diana Kern).

From what I understand, if you are going to reduce or come off your medication, you should never do so abruptly as this can trigger psychosis. Somewhere around here, I'm sure I've written a post regarding that matter. I'll see if I can find the link.