RCT Social Cognition Training and Therapeutic Alliance Focused Therapy for Persons With Severe Mental Illness
Condition: Mental Disorders
MeSH terms: Mental Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The study evaluates the effectiveness of the social cognition and interaction training
      (SCIT), in comparison to both therapeutic alliance focused therapy (TAFT) and treatment as
      usual (TAU) among persons with severe mental illness. Study purpose: 1) Assess the
      effectiveness of the SCIT and TAFT interventions, 2) Assess the processes that putatively
      contribute to the SCIT and TAFT outcomes. Method: A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with
      approximately one hundred and fifty persons with severe mental illness will be carried out in
      different psychiatric rehabilitation units and clinics in Israel. To assess the relative
      effectiveness of the SCIT and TAFT interventions with persons with severe mental illness,
      both interventions will be compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Clinicians will be trained
      in both interventions, and outcome measures, including social quality of life and social
      functioning, as well as mediating processes, including the identification of affective
      states, ToM, attribution errors and therapeutic alliance, will be assessed. Cognitive
      functioning and symptom severity will be treated as covariates. Statistical analyses will
      include analysis of variance which takes into consideration attrition, effect size, mediation
      processes and covariates.
    

Detailed description: 
      Social cognition has become an important treatment target for people with schizophrenia since
      it has been found to be a strong predictor of functional outcome. Social Cognition and
      Interaction Training (SCIT) is a manualized, group-based intervention that was developed to
      address the three core deficits in social cognition associated with severe mental illness:
      emotion perception, Theory of Mind (ToM), and attributional style. SCIT has demonstrated
      efficacy in improving social cognition and social functioning in both inpatient and
      outpatient samples. In addition, evidence also shows that the therapeutic alliance is related
      to various treatment outcomes. Thus, both the SCIT and a therapeutic alliance focused therapy
      (TAFT) may both affect social cognition and social function, but through different pathways.
      TAFT was chosen, as comparison to the SCIT, in order to control for interpersonal
      relationship variables. In this way, the proposed study will evaluate empirically whether the
      specific techniques for ameliorating the social cognition of persons with severe mental
      illness that make-up the SCIT enhance social functioning beyond what is achieved through the
      effective interpersonal ingredients of the therapeutic alliance. Study purpose: 1) Assess the
      effectiveness of the SCIT and TAFT interventions, 2) Assess the processes that putatively
      contribute to the SCIT and TAFT outcomes. Method: A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with
      one hundred and fifty persons with severe mental illness will be carried out in different
      psychiatric rehabilitation units and clinics in Israel. To assess the relative effectiveness
      of the SCIT and TAFT interventions with persons with severe mental illness, both
      interventions will be compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Clinicians will be trained in
      both interventions, and outcome measures, including social quality of life and social
      functioning, as well as mediating processes, including the identification of affective
      states, ToM, attribution errors and therapeutic alliance, will be assessed. Cognitive
      functioning and symptom severity will be treated as covariates. Statistical analyses will
      include analysis of variance which takes into consideration attrition, effect size, mediation
      processes and covariates.
    

Intervention name(s): SCIT; TAFT
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): psychosocial group intervention; psychosocial group intervention
Other intervention name(s): Social Cognition and Interaction Training; Therapeutic Alliance Focused Therapy
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: severe mental illness; social cognition; intervention