Tele-group Cognitive Behavioural Family Intervention for People With Schizophrenia and Their Families (Feasibility tgCBFI)

A Randomised Controlled Study on Feasibility of Tele-group Cognitive Behavioural Family Intervention (tgCBFI) for People With Schizophrenia and Their Families

This mixed-method study aims to examine the feasibility of delivering tgCBFI programme to dyads of people with schizophrenia and their family caregivers, and generate preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of tgCBFI in reducing expressed emotion. The research questions are as follows.

1. What are the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of conducting a tele-group CBFI programme for people with schizophrenia and their family caregivers?
2. What effect does tgCBFI have on the expressed emotion experienced by adults with schizophrenia and the caregiving experience of their family caregivers at posttreatment and 12-week after completion of the programme?
3. What effect does tgCBFI have on the positive and negative symptoms of adults with schizophrenia and the perceived care burden and level of mood disturbance of their family caregivers at posttreatment, and 12-week after completion of the programme?

Inclusion Criteria:

Service users

• diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, based on ICD-10 made by the treating clinicians
• aged 18 to 64
• able to communicate in Cantonese

Family caregivers

• aged 18 or above
• able to communicate in Cantonese
• live with service users

Exclusion Criteria:

Service users

• have co-morbidity of learning disability, organic/neurological conditions, or substance misuse disorder
• live in hostel

Family caregivers

-have active psychiatric conditions