Cognitive therapy for schizophrenia: a preliminary randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the current study was to assess whether patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia and experiencing persistent positive and negative symptoms improve with the addition of cognitive-behavioural therapy to enriched standard treatment.


METHODS
A controlled study was completed with 42 patients randomized to either cognitive-behavioural therapy plus enriched treatment-as-usual (CBT-ETAU) (n = 24) or enriched treatment-as-usual only (ETAU) (n = 18). Enriched treatment-as-usual comprised comprehensive treatment within specialised schizophrenia treatment services. Cognitive-behavioural therapy was conducted on an individual basis for 6 months (20 sessions). Clinical assessments were done at pretreatment, posttreatment and at 6-month follow-up by raters blind to group allocation.


RESULTS
Significant clinical effects were observed for positive, negative and overall symptom severity for patients treated in CBT-ETAU, although there were no statistically significant differences between the treatment groups at posttreatment. The most pronounced effect of CBT-ETAU in comparison to ETAU in this study was in the reduction of negative symptoms at follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
These results show promise for the impact of CBT on negative symptoms when explicitly targeted in treatment.
Rector
Neil A
NA
Mood and Anxiety Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Clarke Division, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 1R8. neil_rector@camh.net
Seeman
Mary V
MV
Segal
Zindel V
ZV
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index