The Effectiveness of a Mindfulness Psychoeducation Programme for Emotional Regulation in Individuals with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Randomised Control Trial.

Abstract

Background Previous trials have demonstrated that people with schizophrenia receiving mindfulness-based psychoeducation programmes(MBPP) had significantly greater improvement in their psychiatric symptoms, functioning, insight and length of re-hospitalisations compared to conventional psychoeducation. However, the effectivness of MBPP on emotional regulation has not been investigated. The current study is the first pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effectiveness of MBPP for emotional regulation in this population. Method A single-blind RCT was conducted, comparing the effectiveness of mindfulness-based psychoeducation programmes in emotion regulation for people with schizophrenia in a community setting. Patients were randomly allocated to MBPP group or telephone follow-up group (control group). The primary outcomes were changes in emotion regulation in terms of rumination, cognitive re-appraisal and suppression. The secondary outcomes were changes in mood symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Results (preliminary data) Thirteen patients were assigned to MBPP group and eleven patients were in control group. There were no significant differences in patient demographics between the treatment and control groups. At 8 weeks follow up, there was an increased use of expressive suppression (Z = -2.35, p = 0.02, Hedges' g=-0.99) in MBPP group compared with control group. There were no differences between intervention and control group in other outcomes. Cognitive reappraisal was significantly improved over time in MBPP group with pre-post comparison (Z = -2.59, p=0.01), although it did not reach a statistical significance when comparing with control group. Conclusion Further data and research are warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of the new treatment.