Group Training for Social Skills in Psychosis

Exploring the Feasibility of Social Skills Training in People With Psychosis.

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of a social skills training group for people with psychosis.

This study is assessing the feasibility of a psychological intervention targeting social cognition problems in people with psychosis. The intervention is a group psychological treatment facilitated by a clinical psychologist. The group therapy takes advantage of audiovisual material and practical exercises to illustrate strategies and thinking styles that may help participants overcome difficulties in social settings.

A second objective of this study is to test a new method to measure social cognition by using portable devices. These devices will be carried by participants in their everyday life and will ask about their social activity levels at random times and record activity levels.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis part of the psychosis spectrum (according to DSM-IV or DSM-V or ICD-10)
• Good command of the English language
• Social engagement problems as evidenced by care coordinator report and number of hours spent in social activities per week lower than 10.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Primary diagnosis of substance abuse disorder
• Change in antipsychotic medication in the last six weeks
• Significant learning difficulties (premorbid IQ lower than 70)