A randomized controlled clinical trial of a nurse-led structured psychosocial intervention program for people with first-onset mental illness in psychiatric outpatient clinics

An international multi-site, randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based psychoeducation group programme for people with schizophrenia

“…First, the participants were motivated to participate and were not blind to the intervention allocation, which might produce an expectation or response bias. Second, patients with a shorter duration of schizophrenia (mean = 2.5–2.7 years), as in this study, might not be representative of the wider schizophrenia population, those with chronic schizophrenia, or those with co-morbidities of other mental disorders such as substance misuse and affective disorders (Chien & Thompson, 2014 ; Chien & Bressington, 2015 ). Therefore, this selective sample might have contributed to high levels of adherence to the intervention, good attendance to intervention sessions and the very low attrition rate in this study.…”

“…Similar to the MBPEG, the CPEG ( n = 114) consisted of 12 bi-weekly 2-h sessions (10–12 participants per group), which was based on previously developed group psychoeducation manuals (Macpherson et al 1996 ; Chien & Bressington, 2015 ). Participants received psychosocial support and psychoeducation from one of three psychiatric nurses trained by the research team and one psychotherapist within a 3-day workshop.…”

“…Secondary outcomes included level of functioning as measured by the Specific Level of Functioning Scale (SLOF) (Schneider & Struening, 1983 ) and insight into illness/treatment (Insight and Treatment Attitudes Questionnaire; ITAQ) (McEvoy et al 1989 ). These scales were validated Chinese versions (Chan et al 2009 ; Chien & Thompson, 2014 ; Chien & Bressington, 2015 ). Patients’ demographic, clinical and treatment-related data were also collected at baseline.…”

A randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based intervention program for people with schizophrenia: 6-month follow-up

“…First, the patients in the early stage of the illness who agreed to participate in the interventions (and study) could be highly motivated to improve their illness condition and much involved in their community rehabilitation or any interventions potentially beneficial to the illness. Second, the conditions such as patients being young, highly educated, and having family support and a satisfactory financial situation, together with a culture of respect and trust for professionals such as clinical managers and therapists,33 prevailed among Chinese/Asian populations. Last, there might be very few structured psychosocial or mindfulness-based education programs/services available for, or accessible to, Chinese patients with early schizophrenia or psychosis 2,17,33…”

“…It was developed from the Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR program and modified for community mental health care service in Hong Kong 30. The content of a psychoeducation group intervention validated in Hong Kong Chinese psychotic patients by Chan et al32 and Chien and Bressington33 was also integrated into the MPGP. One trained psychiatric advanced practice nurse (with 5 years of psychiatric rehabilitation and 3 years of mindfulness group experiences) facilitated all the treatment groups in the two clinics.…”