AS02-03 - Metacognitive Training for Schizophrenia

Abstract

Although antipsychotic medication still represents the treatment of choice for schizophrenia, its objective impact on symptoms is only in the medium effect size range. Hence, clinical researchers are intensively looking for complementary therapeutic options. Cognitive research has elucidated a number of cognitive biases in schizophrenia that seem to play a crucial role in the formation and maintenance of the disorder: jumping to conclusions, attributional biases, a bias against disconfirmatory evidence, overconfidence in errors, and distorted theory of mind. Metacognitive training for schizophrenia patients (MCT) is a group intervention that seeks to sharpen the awareness of schizophrenia patients on these biases. The training is available in 25 languages at no cost via www.uke.de/mkt/. The talk will also present a new treatment program called MCT+ which is a hybrid of MCT and individualized cognitive-behavioral therapy. Results assert that MCT and MCT+ are feasible interventions. According to randomized controlled trials, metacognitive intervention leads to an accelerated symptom improvement and alleviates some cognitive biases (particularly jumping to conclusions) in patients relative to active control interventions.