The Benefits of Individual Psychotherapy for People Diagnosed With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analytic Review

A comprehensive meta-analytic review was undertaken to determine the efficacy of individual psychotherapy for people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Mean effect sizes were calculated for 37 studies conducted on 2,642 patients. Possible moderator variables included (1) randomization, (2) source of data (between-groups and within-groups), (3) type of psychotherapy, (4) use of conjoint antipsychotic medication, (5) chronicity of the disorder, (6) treatment context, and (7) diagnostic criteria. Psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and non-psychodynamic supportive therapies were all associated with improvement in functioning. Similar effect sizes were found between psychotherapy combined with antipsychotic medication and psychotherapy used without medication, between studies that used randomization and those that did not, and between acute and chronic schizophrenia. Larger effects existed for within-groups data compared with between-groups data, for outpatients compared with inpatients, and for studies conducted before the publication of DSM-III. Limitations of this review and suggestions for future research are discussed.