Cognitive Therapy and Recovery from Acute Psychosis: a Controlled Trial

1996 ◽  
Vol 169 (5) ◽  
pp. 602-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val Drury ◽  
Max Birchwood ◽  
Ray Cochrane ◽  
Fiona MacMillan

BackgroundA trial of CT in acute psychosis conducted by the authors has shown a significant impact on the rate and degree of recovery of positive symptoms, the focus of the intervention. This paper seeks to determine whether these effects generalise to other features of acute psychosis including dysphoria, insight and ‘low level’ psychotic thinking which were not directly targeted.MethodMeasures of dysphoria, insight and psychotic thinking were taken over a six-month period following presentation for acute psychosis. Using survival analysis, time to recovery from psychosis using three definitions of increasing stringency was compared between the CT and control group.ResultsCT was associated with a 25–50% reduction in recovery time depending on the definition used.ConclusionThe impact of the CT intervention extended beyond positive symptoms to include insight, dysphoria and ‘low level’ psychotic thinking. Nevertheless this kind of ‘clinical’ recovery required a median of 20 weeks to complete. Implications for clinical models of acute care are discussed.

Circulation ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (suppl_10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Céspedes ◽  
German Briceño ◽  
Michael Farkouh ◽  
Rajesh Vedanthan ◽  
Martha Leal ◽  
...  

Introduction: Educational programs for children can increase uptake of healthy lifestyle behaviors. However, the impact of educational programs in preschool-aged children in low- and middle-income countries is not known. We conducted a five month educational intervention in preschool facilities (PF) in Bogota, Colombia, to assess changes in preschooler’s knowledge, attitudes and habits (KAH) towards healthy eating and living an active lifestyle. Methods: We conducted a cluster, randomized, controlled trial, and randomly assigned 14 PF in Bogota to a five-month educational intervention (7 PF) or to usual curriculum (7 PF). The intervention included classroom activities and use of printed material and videos. A total of 1216 pre-school children, 928 parents, and 120 teachers participated. A structured survey was used to evaluate changes in KAH with a weighted total score (WTS). The primary outcome was change in children's WTS, and the secondary outcomes were change in parents’ and teachers' WTS. The control PF were provided the intervention after the initial evaluation. To assess sustainability, we evaluated both intervention and control groups at 18 months. Results: At 6 months, children in the intervention group showed 10.9% increase in WTS vs. 5.3% in controls, p<0.001, after adjustment for cluster, sex, age and teachers' educational level. Among parents, the equivalent results were 8.9% and 3.1%, respectively, p< 0.001, and among teachers 9.4% and 2.5%, p=0.06. At the 18-month extended follow-up, both the intervention and control children showed a significant further increase in WTS, p<0.001 (Figure 1). In parents and teachers in the intervened group, there was no significant increase in WTS, p=0.7417, and p=0.1197. In the control group, there was an increase in WTS in teachers but not in parents, p=0.001, and p=0.4239. Conclusion: A preschool based intervention, aimed at changing KAH related to healthy diet and active lifestyle, is feasible, efficacious and sustainable up to 18 months in very young children in Colombia.


10.2196/22500 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e22500
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Pelletier ◽  
Janie Houle ◽  
Marie-Hélène Goulet ◽  
Robert-Paul Juster ◽  
Charles-Édouard Giguère ◽  
...  

Background In times of pandemics, social distancing, isolation, and quarantine have precipitated depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. Scientific literature suggests that patients living with mental health problems or illnesses (MHPIs) who interact with peer support workers (PSWs) experience not only the empathy and connectedness that comes from similar life experiences but also feel hope in the possibility of recovery. So far, it is the effect of mental health teams or programs with PSWs that has been evaluated. Objective This paper presents the protocol for a web-based intervention facilitated by PSWs. The five principal research questions are whether this intervention will have an impact in terms of (Q1) personal-civic recovery and (Q2) clinical recovery, (Q3) how these recovery potentials can be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, (Q4) how the lived experience of persons in recovery can be mobilized to cope with such a situation, and (Q5) how sex and gender considerations can be taken into account for the pairing of PSWs with service users beyond considerations based solely on psychiatric diagnoses or specific MHPIs. This will help us assess the impact of PSWs in this setting. Methods PSWs will lead a typical informal peer support group within the larger context of online peer support groups, focusing on personal-civic recovery. They will be scripted with a fixed, predetermined duration (a series of 10 weekly 90-minute online workshops). There will be 2 experimental subgroups—patients diagnosed with (1) psychotic disorders (n=10) and (2) anxiety or mood disorders (n=10)—compared to a control group (n=10). Random assignment to the intervention and control arms will be conducted using a 2:1 ratio. Several instruments will be used to assess clinical recovery (eg, the Recovery Assessment Scale, the Citizenship Measure questionnaire). The COVID-19 Stress Scales will be used to assess effects in terms of clinical recovery and stress- or anxiety-related responses to COVID-19. Changes will be compared between groups from baseline to endpoint in the intervention and control groups using the Student paired sample t test. Results This pilot study was funded in March 2020. The protocol was approved on June 16, 2020, by the Research Ethics Committees of the Montreal Mental Health University Institute. Recruitment took place during the months of July and August, and results are expected in December 2020. Conclusions Study results will provide reliable evidence on the effectiveness of a web-based intervention provided by PSWs. The investigators, alongside key decision makers and patient partners, will ensure knowledge translation throughout, and our massive open online course (MOOC), The Fundamentals of Recovery, will be updated with the evidence and new knowledge generated by this feasibility study. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04445324; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04445324 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/22500


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Hoover ◽  
Gayle DeDe ◽  
Edwin Maas

Purpose Evidence has shown that group conversation treatment may improve communication and reduce social isolation for people with aphasia. However, little is known about the impact of conversation group treatment on measures of discourse. This project explored the impact of conversation treatment on measures of monologic discourse. Method In this randomized controlled trial, 48 participants with chronic aphasia were randomly assigned to dyadic, large group, or control conditions. Conversation group treatment was provided for 1 hr, twice per week, for 10 weeks. Discourse samples were collected and coded at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6-week maintenance. There were three narrative tasks: (a) Comprehensive Aphasia Test (CAT) picture description, (b) Cat Rescue Picture, and (c) Cinderella retell. All narratives were coded using the percent correct information units (percent CIUs), the CAT standardized narrative analysis method, and the complete utterance (CU) method. Results No significant changes were observed on percent CIU, which was the primary outcome measure. The treated groups demonstrated improvement on aspects of the CU method following treatment, whereas the control group did not. Significant changes were observed for other CIU measures and the CAT standardized narrative analysis in both the treated and control groups. Conclusions The results suggest that the CU measures were more sensitive to the effects of conversation treatment in monologic discourse compared to CIU and CAT measures. Changes were more common in absolute rather than relative values, suggesting that conversation treatment impacts the overall amount of language produced rather than efficiency of production.


1996 ◽  
Vol 169 (5) ◽  
pp. 593-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val Drury ◽  
Max Birchwood ◽  
Ray Cochrane ◽  
Fiona MacMillan

BackgroundThe application of cognitive therapy (CT) to psychosis is currently being developed in the UK. This paper reports a trial of CT in acute psychosis with the objective of hastening the resolution of positive symptoms and reducing residual symptoms.MethodOf 117 patients with acute non-affective psychosis, 69 satisfied inclusion criteria and 40 proceeded to stratified randomisation. The experimental intervention involving individual and group CT was compared with a group receiving matched hours of therapist input providing structured activities and informal support; routine pharmacotherapy was provided by clinicians blind to group allocation. Patients were monitored weekly using self-report and mental state assessments during admission and over the subsequent nine months.ResultsBoth groups showed a decline in positive symptoms but this was more marked in the CT group (P < 0.001). At 9 months 5% of the CT group, v. 56% of the control group, showed moderate or severe residual symptoms.ConclusionCT appears to be a potent adjunct to pharmacotherapy and standard care for acute psychosis. Issues concerning internal and external validity of the study and opportunities for further research are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Pelletier ◽  
Janie Houle ◽  
Marie-Hélène Goulet ◽  
Robert-Paul Juster ◽  
Charles-Édouard Giguère ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND In times of pandemics, social distancing, isolation, and quarantine have precipitated depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. Scientific literature suggests that patients living with mental health problems or illnesses (MHPIs) who interact with peer support workers (PSWs) experience not only the empathy and connectedness that comes from similar life experiences but also feel hope in the possibility of recovery. So far, it is the effect of mental health teams or programs with PSWs that has been evaluated. OBJECTIVE This paper presents the protocol for a web-based intervention facilitated by PSWs. The five principal research questions are whether this intervention will have an impact in terms of (Q1) personal-civic recovery and (Q2) clinical recovery, (Q3) how these recovery potentials can be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, (Q4) how the lived experience of persons in recovery can be mobilized to cope with such a situation, and (Q5) how sex and gender considerations can be taken into account for the pairing of PSWs with service users beyond considerations based solely on psychiatric diagnoses or specific MHPIs. This will help us assess the impact of PSWs in this setting. METHODS PSWs will lead a typical informal peer support group within the larger context of online peer support groups, focusing on personal-civic recovery. They will be scripted with a fixed, predetermined duration (a series of 10 weekly 90-minute online workshops). There will be 2 experimental subgroups—patients diagnosed with (1) psychotic disorders (n=10) and (2) anxiety or mood disorders (n=10)—compared to a control group (n=10). Random assignment to the intervention and control arms will be conducted using a 2:1 ratio. Several instruments will be used to assess clinical recovery (eg, the Recovery Assessment Scale, the Citizenship Measure questionnaire). The COVID-19 Stress Scales will be used to assess effects in terms of clinical recovery and stress- or anxiety-related responses to COVID-19. Changes will be compared between groups from baseline to endpoint in the intervention and control groups using the Student paired sample t test. RESULTS This pilot study was funded in March 2020. The protocol was approved on June 16, 2020, by the Research Ethics Committees of the Montreal Mental Health University Institute. Recruitment took place during the months of July and August, and results are expected in December 2020. CONCLUSIONS Study results will provide reliable evidence on the effectiveness of a web-based intervention provided by PSWs. The investigators, alongside key decision makers and patient partners, will ensure knowledge translation throughout, and our massive open online course (MOOC), <i>The Fundamentals of Recovery</i>, will be updated with the evidence and new knowledge generated by this feasibility study. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04445324; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04445324 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/22500


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardashir Afrasiabifar ◽  
Asadollah Mosavi ◽  
Abolfazl Taghipour Jahromi ◽  
Nazafarin Hosseini

Objective. To determine the impact of spiritual intervention on hope and spiritual well-being of persons with cancer Methods. Randomized controlled trial in which 74 patients with cancer referring to a chemotherapy ward of Shahid Rajaie Hospital in Yasuj city, Iran, were participated. The eligible patients were randomly assigned to either intervention or control group. Spiritual-based intervention was performed based on the protocol in four main fields namely; religious, existence, emotional and social over 5 sessions before chemotherapy.The participants in the control group had received usual cares .Data were collected using Snyder's Hope Scale and Ellison's Scale Spiritual Well-Being Scale on a week before and after intervention. Results. The total mean scores of the scales of hope and spiritual well-being in both groups did not present statistical differences in the pre-intervention assessment. In contrast, at the post assessment, significant differences (p<0.001) were found in the mean scores between the intervention and control groups on the hope scale (60.9 versus 39.8) and on the spiritual well-being scale (94.3 versus 71.6). Conclusion. Spiritual intervention could promote hope and spiritual well-being of persons with cancer.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Rivera ◽  
Dennis R. Holmes ◽  
Lorraine Tafra

Breast conserving surgery has been accepted as the optimal local therapy for women with early breast cancer, emphasizing the necessity to balance oncologic goals with patient satisfaction and cosmetic outcomes. In the move to enhance a surgeon's ability to achieve histologically clear margins intraoperatively at the initial surgery, the MarginProbe (Dune Medical Devices, Caesarea, Israel) has emerged as an effective tool to accomplish that task. Based on previously reported success using the device, we assessed cosmesis and tissue resection volumes among participants in a randomized-controlled trial comparing the standard of care lumpectomy performed with and without the MarginProbe. The use of the MarginProbe device resulted in a 57% reduction in reexcision rates compared to the control group with a small increase in tissue volume removed at the primary lumpectomy. When total tissue volumes removed were analyzed, the device and control groups were still very similar after normalization to bra cup size. We concluded that the MarginProbe is an effective device to assist surgeons in determining margin status intraoperatively while allowing for better patient cosmetic outcomes due to the smaller volumes of tissue resected and the reduction in patient referrals for second surgeries due to positive margins.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Ayça Aktaç Gürbüz ◽  
Orçun YORULMAZ ◽  
Gülşah DURNA

Scientific research into the reduction of stigmatization, particularly related to specific problems such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), is scarce. In the present study, we examine the impact of a video-based antistigma intervention program for OCD in a pretest-posttest control group research. After being randomly assigned to either an intervention (n= 101) or control group (n= 96), the participants reported their attitudes on a hypothetical case vignette before and after OCD vs. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) videos, and again six months later as a follow up assessment. The mixed design analyses for the group comparisons indicated that although there was no significant difference in the measures of the control group, the participants watching the anti-stigma OCD video, in which the focus was psychoeducation and interaction strategies, reported significantly lower scores on social distances and negative beliefs for the case vignettes they read, and this difference was maintained six months later. Then, the present results indicate the effectiveness of our anti-stigma intervention program for OCD. Interventions to reduce stigmatization can also be viewed as effective tools for changing the attitudes of people toward OCD, although further research and applications are needed related to specific disorders if a longlasting impact is to be achieved.


10.37512/700 ◽  
2020 ◽  

Poor quality complementary foods contribute to undernutrition in children aged 6-23 months. Therefore, there is need to explore foods that will provide adequate nutrients for this age group. This study aimed at determining the impact of a sorghum-amaranth composite flour porridge on nutrient intake of children aged 6-23 months. A randomized controlled trial was conducted at Kiandutu slum, Thika, Kenya. Children in the control group (CG), received a maize-sorghum flour while those in the treatment group (TG) received an amaranth-sorghum flour. The sample size per study group was 73 mother-child pairs. The children in the TG received Kcal 1000 worth of porridge/day while those in the CG received Kcal 266.8/day. Mothers of children in both groups were given nutrition education at baseline, and monthly, for six months. Food intake data was taken at baseline, then monthly for six months. Descriptive statistics were used to describe nutrient intake. Chi square and Mann Whitney U test were was used to compare the baseline characteristics of the two groups and their nutrient intake, respectively. At baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. On a monthly basis, nutrient intake in the TG was significantly higher for a majority of the nutrients than in the CG. The product can contribute to preventing under-nutrition in children aged 6-23 months.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982199474
Author(s):  
Maggie Xing ◽  
Dorina Kallogjeri ◽  
Jay F. Piccirillo

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive training in improving tinnitus bother and to identify predictors of patient response. Study Design Prospective open-label randomized controlled trial. Setting Online. Methods Participants were adults with subjective idiopathic nonpulsatile tinnitus causing significant tinnitus-related distress. The intervention group trained by using auditory-intensive exercises for 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 8 weeks. The active control group trained on the same schedule with non–auditory intensive games. Surveys were completed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks. Results A total of 64 participants completed the study. The median age was 63 years (range, 25-69) in the intervention group and 61 years (34-68) in the control group. Mixed model analysis revealed that within-subject change in Tinnitus Functional Index in the intervention group was not different than the control group, with marginal mean differences (95% CI): 0.24 (–11.20 to 10.7) and 2.17 (–8.50 to 12.83) at 8 weeks and 2.33 (–8.6 to 13.3) and 3.36 (–7.91 to 14.6) at 12 weeks, respectively. When the 2 study groups were compared, the control group had higher Tinnitus Functional Index scores than the intervention group by 10.5 points at baseline (95% CI, –0.92 to 29.89), 8.1 at 8 weeks (95% CI, –3.27 to 19.42), and 9.4 at 12 weeks (95% CI, –2.45 to 21.34). Conclusion Auditory-intensive cognitive training was not associated with changes in self-reported tinnitus bother. Given the potential for neuroplasticity to affect tinnitus, we believe that future studies on cognitive training for tinnitus remain relevant.


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