Randomized Controlled Trial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Aug 19, 2023; 13(8): 583-592
Published online Aug 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i8.583
Effect of cognitive behavioral group therapy on rehabilitation of community patients with schizophrenia: A short-term randomized control trial
Xue-Lian Chen, Xiao-Ting Deng, Fu-Gang Sun, Qing-Jun Huang
Xue-Lian Chen, Medical College of Shantou University, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Xue-Lian Chen, Xiao-Ting Deng, Fu-Gang Sun, Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Center (Mental Health Center) of Longhua District, Shenzhen 518110, Guangdong Province, China
Qing-Jun Huang, Mental Health Center, Shantou University, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Chen XL and Deng XT were responsible for study design and data analysis; Sun FG was responsible for data acquirement and mental health education; Chen XL was responsible for cognitive behavioral group therapy; Chen XL and Huang QJ drafted the manuscript and revised it critically; and all the authors critically reviewed the manuscript and gave final approval for its publication.
Supported by Science and Technology Innovation Bureau, Longhua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, No. 2020202.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Biomedical Ethics Review Committee of Longhua District Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment Center (Mental Health Center).
Clinical trial registration statement: This study is registered at https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=186499. The registration identification number is ChiCTR2300067834.
Informed consent statement: The informed consent were obtained from the family members of the research patients.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing-Jun Huang, PhD, Professor, Mental Health Center, Shantou University, Mount Taishan North Road, Wanji District, Shantou 515041, Guangdong Province, China. huangqj@stu.edu.cn
Received: June 20, 2023
Peer-review started: June 20, 2023
First decision: July 7, 2023
Revised: July 17, 2023
Accepted: July 19, 2023
Article in press: July 19, 2023
Published online: August 19, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an evidence-based adjunctive intervention for schizophrenia and has shown benefits.

Research motivation

Whether the combination therapy of cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and mental health education shows superior benefits to mental health education alone in the management of schizophrenia?

Research objectives

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of CBGT combined with mental health single mental health education and mental health education alone for schizophrenia.

Research methods

A total of 120 patients with schizophrenia were enrolled and allocated to an intervention group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 60). Patients in the intervention group received CBGT therapy which was added as an adjunctive intervention to antipsychotics and mental health education. Patients in the control group only received antipsychotic drugs and mental health. The cycle of treatment is 8 wk. After a follow-up of four weeks, score for positive and negative symptom scale, social function, activities of daily living and medication compliance were measured.

Research results

It showed that 8 wk of CBGT combined with mental health education significantly alleviated symptoms and cognitive dysfunction and improved social functioning although it did not have a significant impact on medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia after 4 wk of follow-up.

Research conclusions

The results of this study indicate that the combination therapy of CBGT and mental health education is a promising addition to antipsychotics.

Research perspectives

To attain robust results, further large-scale studies should be conducted with the measurements of cognitive function, duration of illness, dosing of medication and other relevant factors are considered to support the clinical evidence.