Group Treatment in People Diagnosed as Schizophrenia

Abstract

Introduction: The habitual therapeutic objectives of the treatment in the schizophrenia have been the symptomatic lightening and the prevention of relapses. But the present extension of these objectives adds the evaluation of the quality of life like indicator of results in the therapeutic performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a psychosocial intervention group on the subjective quality of life, the symptomatic state and the number and duration of the relapses in people diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic.
Methodology: We selected 30 participants with paranoid schizophrenia (criteria DSM-IV) of a mental health center of Maresme area (Barcelona). Of these, 15 participants who assigned to the group treatment and 15 to the group selected themselves at random control. Two instruments of evaluation were administered: the Seville Questionnaire of Quality of Life (CSCV) (Giner et al., 1995) and The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) (Peralta y Cuesta, 1994), before the beginning of the treatment group, to the 12 months and the 24 months of the beginning of the same one.
Results: The treatment group improved significantly in the quality of life, the symptomatic state and in the number and duration of the relapses after the 12 months of the beginning of the intervention. This improvement stayed after the 24 months of the beginning of the treatment. In the comparison with the group control the statistical meaning of improvement was not so evident.
Conclusions: The psychosocial interventions groups allow the improvement of the subjective quality of life, the symptomatic state and the diminution of the relapses of the participants with paranoid schizophrenia.