Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to understand the meaning of medication therapy for schizophrenic patients and formulate a theoretical model about the study phenomenon. METHOD: a qualitative approach was employed, using Symbolic Interactionism as the theoretical and Grounded Theory as the methodological framework. The research was developed between 2008 and 2010 at three community mental health services in the interior of the State of São Paulo - Brazil. Thirty-six patients and thirty-six family members were selected through theoretical sampling. The data were mainly collected through open interviews and observation and simultaneously analyzed through open, axial and selective coding. RESULTS: the meaning of the pharmacotherapy is centered on the phenomenon "Living with a help that bothers", which expresses the patients' ambivalence towards the medication and determines their decision making. The insight, access, limitations for self-administration of the drugs and interactions with family members and the health team influenced the patient's medication-related behavior. CONCLUSION: the theory presented in this study provides a comprehensive, contextualized, motivational and dynamic understanding of the relation the patient experiences and indicates potentials and barriers to follow the medication treatment.