Work-related social skills training for people with schizophrenia in Hong Kong

This article describes a prospective blinded outcome study of a vocational social skills training program developed in Hong Kong for people affected b y chronic schizophrenia. The aim was to improve their ability to find and k eep a job. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: a social sk ids training group with followup support, a social skills training group wi thout followup support, and a comparison group who received standard after- care treatment. Participants who had participated in either of the training groups statistically outperformed those in the comparison group, Those rec eiving the training plus followup were statistically much more successful a t finding and keeping a job than participants in either of the other two gr oups. A comparatively small amount of followup contact (a monthly group mee ting or phone call) for 3 months after the training finished had a very sig nificant effect on participants' success rate.