North Wales randomized controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for acute schizophrenia spectrum disorders: outcomes at 6 and 12 months

Background. Recent reviews of randomized controlled trials have concluded that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is effective, as an addition to standard care, in the treatment of people suffering from schizophrenia. Most of the trials have been conducted with stabilized out-patients. The aim of thi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine 2004-04, Vol.34 (3), p.413-422
Main Authors: STARTUP, M., JACKSON, M. C., BENDIX, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Adult
Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Clinical trials
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behaviour therapy
Cognitive therapy
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Outcomes
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Randomized controlled trials
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - therapy
Schizophrenic Psychology
Treatment Outcome
Treatments
Wales
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background. Recent reviews of randomized controlled trials have concluded that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is effective, as an addition to standard care, in the treatment of people suffering from schizophrenia. Most of the trials have been conducted with stabilized out-patients. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of CBT for in-patients suffering acute psychotic episodes, when delivered under conditions representative of current clinical practice. Method. Consecutive admissions meeting criteria were recruited. After screening, 43 were assigned at random to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) control group and 47 were assigned to TAU plus CBT. At baseline, 6 months and 12 months, patients were rated on symptoms and social functioning. CBT (maximum 25 sessions) began immediately after baseline assessment. Results. The CBT group gained greater benefit than the TAU group on symptoms and social functioning. A larger proportion of the CBT group (60%) than the TAU group (40%) showed reliable and clinically important change, and none of them (v. 17%) showed reliable deterioration compared with baseline. Conclusions. CBT for patients suffering acute psychotic episodes can produce significant benefits when provided under clinically representative conditions.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291703001211