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Antipsychotic drugs are a cornerstone of treatment for schizophrenia, but they are not curative and do not reverse functional and occupational disability. In a 1-year, multicenter study, investigators in China randomized 1268 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder within the previous 5 years to continued maintenance antipsychotics alone or combined with manual-based group psychosocial therapy.
Patients lived with their families, who were involved in treatment, which occurred monthly. Combination treatment involved 1 day per month of hourly sessions in each of the four components of the psychotherapeutic intervention: education about mental illness; family intervention (enhancing communication, coping, and ear…