A Preliminary Controlled Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Clozapine-Resistant Schizophrenia
Eliza de Paiva Barretto;Monica Kayo;Belquiz Avrichir;Antonio Sa;Maria das Camargo;Isabel Napolitano;Fabiano Nery;Jony Pinto;Silvia Bannwart;Silvia Scemes;Elaine Di Sarno;Helio Elkis;
*Department and Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil; and †Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Abstract
The use of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) in addition to antipsychotic regimen to treat persistent psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia is growing. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of CBT to a befriending (BF) control group in patients with schizophrenia who are refractory to clozapine. Twenty-one patients completed the 21-week trial. In comparison with the control group, the CBT group showed a significant improvement in the General Psychopathology and total score of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, as well as an improvement of Quality of Life scale. The improvement in psychopathology persisted at 6-month follow-up assessment.