Enhancing the Outcome of Skills Training for People With Schizophrenia

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Status

Completed

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Treatments

Procedure: Social skills and symptom management training

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

NIH

Identifiers

NCT00069433

R01MH066362 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

DSIR AT-SP

#4339

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will determine the effectiveness of skills training in people with schizophrenia and the applicability of the acquired skills in the "real world."

Full description

People with schizophrenia have a large number of social and symptom management training programs available to them. Studies suggest that these training programs are effective, but their generalizability and effectiveness in outpatient settings has not been thoroughly examined. This study will examine the treatment outcomes of a skills training approach in schizophrenic individuals taking antipsychotic medication.

Participants taking stable doses of risperidone, olanzapine, or quetiapine will be randomly assigned to receive either intensive symptom management and social skills training or group therapy for 12 months. A verbal memory test will be used to stratify the randomization procedure and to control for neurocognitive functioning.

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 55 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder for > 5 years
Use of stable dose risperidone, olanzapine, or quetiapine for at least 1 month with no planned medication changes
Social Behavior Scale (SBS) score > 45
Willing and able to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Intelligence Quotient < 70
Use of more than one antipsychotic medication
Use of benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, or anticholinergic medication commonly used to treat extrapyramidal symptoms
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV criteria for alcohol or other substance dependence
History of any traumatic brain injury leading to loss of consciousness for > 30 minutes
Diagnosis of a comorbid medical condition that could interfere with antipsychotic medication treatment or the ability to complete the study