Mindfulness Psychoeducation Program for Schizophrenia

The Effectiveness of a Mindfulness Psychoeducation Program on Emotional Regulation for People With Schizophrenia: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial

The study is the first pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) to explore the feasibility and efficacy of Mindfulness-based psychoeducation in emotion regulation and related depressive and anxiety symptoms in people with schizophrenia.

There is increasing evidence to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of mindfulness-based psychoeducation programme (MBPP) for Chinese people with schizophrenia. A single-blind, multi-site, pragmatic randomised controlled trial conducted in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan with 300 participants consistently demonstrated significant improvement in regard to insight of illness, functioning, mental state and the length of re-hospitalisations when compared with conventional psychoeducation and Treatment As Usual (TAU) groups (Chien, 2017).

The study hypothesises that:

1. Participants receiving MBPP will decrease their use of rumination and expressive suppression, and increase the use of cognitive reappraisal compared to a control group after completion of the intervention.
2. Participants receiving MBPP attain a reduction in depressive/anxiety symptoms compared to a control group after completion of the intervention.
3. These effects are expected to be maintained through 3-month follow up with regular self-practice.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 years to 65 years old
• Diagnosis with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (and the latest DSM-V) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10)-Classification of Mental Disorders
• Able to communicate in written and conversational Chinese/Cantonese
• Able to understand the concepts of the study and to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Comorbid organic brain disorders or substance abuse
• Participation in any forms of cognitive therapy
• Participation and/or practice of mindfulness (in the forms of Tai Chi, Qi Gong, etc.) more than twice a week during the previous three months