SKILLS TRAINING VERSUS PSYCHOSOCIAL OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY FOR PERSONS WITH PERSISTENT SCHIZOPHRENIA

Objective: The authors compared the community functioning of outpatien ts with persistent forms of schizophrenia after treatment with psychos ocial occupational therapy or social skills training, with the latter conducted by paraprofessionals. Method: Eighty outpatients with persis tent forms of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to receive either p sychosocial occupational therapy or skills training for 12 hours weekl y for 6 months, followed by 18 months of follow-up with case managemen t in the community. Antipsychotic medication was prescribed through '' doctor's choice'' by psychiatrists who were blind to the psychosocial treatment assignments. Results: Patients who received skills training showed significantly greater independent living skills during a 2-year follow-up of everyday community functioning. Conclusions: Skills trai ning can be effectively conducted by paraprofessionals, with durabilit y and generalization of the skills greater than that achieved by occup ational therapists who provide their patients with psychosocial occupa tional therapy.