text_1: Talk Therapy Found to Ease Schizophrenia
text_2: Update: The Times has issued a correction to this story. The correction states that the story erroneously claimed that the experimental approach in the study used lower drug dosages. “Though it studied a program intended to reduce medication dosages, the researchers do not yet know for sure if dosages were lowered or by how much,” the correction notes.”Therefore, the study did not conclude ‘that schizophrenia patients who received smaller doses of antipsychotic medication and a bigger emphasis on one-on-one talk therapy and family support made greater strides in recovery.’ (The study did conclude that the alternative treatment program as a whole led to better outcomes. )” We changed the headline of our review from “Times captures impact of new, less drug-intensive schizophrenia treatment” to “Times explores impact of integrated care model for schizophrenia treatment.” The correction does not affect our ratings for the story, but the references we made in the review to the lowered drug dosages are no longer appropriate and have been stricken. In addition, the tone of the review would have been more circumspect had we known that the intended reduction in drug dosages had not been confirmed by the researchers. In a large randomized controlled trial in 34 community clinics across the U.S., researchers compared usual care for first episode psychosis with a program of integrated care that included not only drugs, but also help with school and work, family education about the problems and how best to help, as well as one-on-one talk therapy. The government (National Institute of Mental Health)-funded study found that those receiving the integrated program of care experienced more symptom relief and functioned better than those in the treatment-as-usual group. Their doses of medication were also 20-50% lower. Those receiving treatment earlier on in their psychotic episodes also did better. The story overall does a solid job of covering the study and its implications. But we wish it had pushed a bit harder to quantify the benefits shown in the 2-year trial with some hard numbers. We applaud the discussion of federal policy and financing, but also wish there had been some discussion of the costs of therapy itself. The inclusion of a variety of perspectives on the research brings depth and nuance to the coverage. Psychiatric treatment in the U.S. has become very drug focused. Other countries are ahead of us on using more integrated care models like the one described in this story, so it’s great to see its success “proven” with a randomized trial. With solid evidence to back it, this model will hopefully become a more accepted approach to practice in the U.S.