The study used a single intervention arm where all participants received group reminiscence therapy alongside usual inpatient care. The program lasted 8 weeks, with weekly 60-90 minute sessions conducted in small groups. Sessions followed a structured format using themes such as childhood, family, and life events, supported by prompts like photos and music. The intervention targeted cognition, communication, and social functioning through guided recall and group interaction. Sessions were led by trained mental health professionals using a supportive approach. Fidelity was maintained through manuals and attendance tracking. Participants continued standard psychiatric treatment throughout.

The group reminiscence intervention included 8 sessions delivered over 4 weeks, with two sessions per week. Groups consisted of 3-4 participants, with 11 groups in total. Each session lasted 80-90 minutes, with careful management to limit discussion of hallucinations and delusions. Sessions followed four stages: reconnection to build rapport and trust, reflection to stimulate autobiographical recall using active listening, restating to summarize contributions, and closure emphasizing confidentiality. Trauma-informed and psychologically supportive principles guided all sessions, including sensitive handling of difficult memories. Content covered life domains such as childhood, family, and hospital experiences, with focus on coping and meaning-making. Multisensory culturally familiar stimuli were used to enhance engagement, including traditional foods, games, and music. Confidentiality was reinforced, and participants received a small appreciation gesture at the final session.

All measures is in % Recruitment rate: Percentage of eligible participants enrolled during the 10-week recruitment period, calculated as the number who provide written consent divided by the total eligible participants approached, multiplied by 100.

Retention rate: Percentage of enrolled participants who complete the week 10 assessment, calculated as completers divided by total enrolled at baseline, multiplied by 100.

Attrition rate: Percentage of participants who withdraw before week 10, calculated as discontinuations divided by total enrolled, multiplied by 100.

Adherence: Attendance rate across scheduled sessions, calculated as sessions attended divided by total sessions, multiplied by 100.

Data completeness: Percentage of completed outcome assessment items at baseline and week 10, calculated as completed items divided by total expected items, multiplied by 100.

Adverse events: Number and proportion of participants experiencing adverse events during the intervention period.

The Brief Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory is a 19-item self-report measure of communication with others (Bienvenu, 1971; Hecht, 1978). It uses a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), with higher scores indicating better communication. Reported reliability ranges from 0.72 to 0.93, and in this study Cronbach's alpha was 0.75 (Rubin et al., 2004).

The Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ) is an 8-item self-report measure assessing social functioning across self-care, domestic, community, and social roles (Birchwood et al., 1990). Items are rated on a 4-point scale from 0 to 3, with total scores ranging from 0 to 24. Higher scores indicate poorer functioning. The Arabic version shows good reliability (α=0.80), and in this study Cronbach's alpha was 0.73 (Benhaddouch et al., 2025).

The Mini-Cog is a brief screening tool for cognitive impairment (Borson et al., 2000). Scores range from 0-5, with scores below 3 indicating likely impairment. It includes a three-word recall task (0-3 points) and a clock-drawing task (0 or 2 points). The total score is the sum of both components. A cutoff of <3 is commonly used for classification. The Arabic version shows sensitivity of 92.9% and specificity of 34.3% (Albanna et al., 2017).