The Evaluation of Therapeutic Efficacy on the Integrated Group Psychotherapy for Patients With Schizophrenia

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Although the patients with schizophrenia can be treated with new generation of antipsychotics medication, additional approaches are necessary to improve schizophrenics' cognitive functions, interpersonal relationships as well as social adjustment. When some of patients return to community, they expose to practical pressure that contribute to worsen and relapse of disease. That further damages patient's cognitive functions. Integrated Psychological Therapy(IPT) on treating schizophrenia has dramatic improvement in recent years; it has formed structured treatment gradually on relieving illusion, hallucination as well as negative symptoms. This study aims at conducting 12-week structured IPT group therapy. The intended subjects are patients, met with DSM-Ⅳ-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia, from community, outpatient and inpatient service. The overall treatments are designed to provide 1-2 hours weekly group therapy which focuses on relieving illusions, hallucination, and negative symptoms. Patients' cognitive functions, ability of emotional adjustment and interpersonal relationship would be evaluated in pre-test and post-test to indicate whether the significant difference exists. There is a controlled group, in which patients who still receive treatment as usual (TAU). The study also compares the evaluation results between IPT group and TAU group, hoping to develop the therapeutic framework for Taiwan people with schizophrenia.

Official Title
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Department of Psychiatry of NTUH Yun-Lin Branch

Conditions
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Schizophrenia

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Group Psychotherapy


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: schizophrenia, can concentrate in group for 30 minutes. Exclusion Criteria: substance abuse (alcohol, illegal medication), self harm history.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 80 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Other: Arm<br>There is no arm in this study. | Behavioral: Group Psychotherapy<br>* integrated group psychotherapy, including the interpersonal and cognitive group therapy<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| re-hospitalization rate | acute symptom relapse and needed to be admitted to the acute ward | after 3 months of the group psychotherapy | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cognitive functions, ability of emotional adjustment, and interpersonal relationship | The tests of psychiatric symptoms, cognitive test, anxiety, depression, interpsersonal skill, and emotional adjustment Add Secondary Outcome Measure:The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Beck depression scale, Beck anxiety scale, Beck suicial ideation scale, Cognitive tests (visual spatial test), CPT-IP for attention test | 12 months of the group tpsychotherapy | 
| The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Beck depression scale, Beck anxiety scale, Beck suicial ideation scale, Cognitive tests (visual spatial test), CPT-IP for attention test | The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for psychiatric symptoms, Beck depression scale for depression symptoms, Beck anxiety scale for anxiety symptoms, Beck suicial ideation scale for suicidal ideation evalution Cognitive tests (visual spatial test), CPT-IP for attention test for cognitive function | 12 months of the group psychotherapy |