Brief day hospital mentalization based group psychotherapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Mentalization-based therapy (MBT), a manualized psychodynamically and developmentally oriented psychotherapy, has been proven effective in controlled studies in non-psychotic patients with severe mental disorders. Although MBT is currently being used to treat schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), to date no prospective studies have evaluated outcomes and treatment-related adverse effects. Brief mentalization-based group psychotherapy (B-MBGT) is a 12-week program based on the explicit mentalizing techniques of MBT. The study was conducted at a day hospital (DH) and the main objective was to examine the feasibility of B-MBGT to treat patients with SSD. METHOD: Open study to assess the safety of B-MBGT in 72 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or unspecified psychotic disorder. All patients underwent both B-MBGT and Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT). Consequently, a secondary aim was to compare these two therapies in terms of acceptance and subjective efficacy. RESULTS: Adverse reactions were scarce and the most common of the reported ones, discomfort during the group treatment session, was considered mild in most cases. Compared to IPT, B-MBGT yielded significant higher scores on four subjective efficacy parameters. CONCLUSION: B-MBGT in DH is both feasible and safe in SSD patients and most patients in this study considered B-MBGT to be beneficial. Controlled studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of B-MBGT.

Psicoterapia de grupo breve basada en la mentalización en hospital de día para trastornos del espectro esquizofrénico: Un estudio de viabilidad / Brief day hospital mentalization based group psychotherapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A feasibility study

INTRODUCCIÓN: La terapia basada en la mentalización (TBM), una psicoterapia manualizada de orientación psico-dinámica y en la teoría del desarrollo, ha demostrado efectividad en estudios controlados en pacientes con trastornos mentales graves no psicóticos. Aunque la TBM se utiliza en el tratamiento de los trastornos del espectro esquizofrénico (TEE), hasta la fecha no se han realizado estudios prospectivos para evaluar los resultados y los efectos adversos. La terapia de grupo breve basada en la mentalización (B-TGBM) es un programa de 12 semanas basado en las técnicas de mentalización explícita de la TBM. El estudio se realizó en un hospital de día (HD) y el objetivo principal fue examinar la viabilidad de la B-TGBM en pacientes con TEE. MÉTODO: Estudio abierto para evaluar la seguridad de la B-TGBM en 72 pacientes que cumplían criterios DSM-IV de esquizofrenia, trastorno esquizofreniforme, trastorno esquizoafectivo o trastorno psicótico no especificado. Todos los pacientes realizaron B-TGBM y terapia psicológica integrada (IPT). Consecuentemente, un objetivo secundario fue compa-rar la aceptación y la eficacia subjetiva de estas dos terapias. RESULTADOS: Las reacciones adversas fueron escasas y la más común de las registradas, malestar durante la sesión de grupo, se consideró leve en la mayoría de los casos. Comparada con la IPT, la B-TGBM presentó puntuaciones significativamente superiores en cuatro de los parámetros de eficacia subjetiva. CONCLUSIÓN: La B-TGBM en HD es viable y segura en pacientes con TEE y la mayoría de los pacientes en este estudio la consideraron beneficiosa. Se necesitan estudios controla-dos para determinar la efectividad de la B-TGBM

BACKGROUND: Mentalization-based therapy (MBT), a manualized psychodynamically and developmentally orient-ed psychotherapy, has been proven effective in controlled studies in non-psychotic patients with severe mental disorders. Although MBT is currently being used to treat schizo-phrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), to date no prospective studies have evaluated outcomes and treatment-related adverse effects. Brief mentalization-based group psychotherapy (B-MBGT) is a 12-week program based on the explicit mentalizing techniques of MBT. The study was conducted at a day hospital (DH) and the main objective was to examine the feasibility of B-MBGT to treat patients with SSD. Method. Open study to assess the safety of B-MBGT in 72 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or unspecified psychotic disorder. All patients underwent both B-MBGT and Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT). Consequently, a secondary aim was to compare these two therapies in terms of acceptance and subjective efficacy. RESULTS: Adverse reactions were scarce and the most common of the reported ones, discomfort during the group treatment session, was considered mild in most cases. Compared to IPT, B-MBGT yielded significant higher scores on four subjective efficacy parameters. CONCLUSION: B-MBGT in DH is both feasible and safe in SSD patients and most patients in this study considered B-MBGT to be beneficial. Controlled studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of B-MBGT