Culturally Adapted Psychosocial Interventions for Early Psychosis in a Low-resource Setting

Family Intervention (FI) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) are among the most efficacious psychosocial interventions to prevent relapse in schizophrenia. However, there is limited evidence from LMICs that supports the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of delivering these psychosocial interventions to individuals with FEP. We aim to determine the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Culturally adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CaCBT) and Culturally adapted Family Intervention (CulFI) compared to TAU in reducing overall symptoms of psychosis in individuals with FEP in Pakistan. The study will include 390 participants with FEP from psychiatric units of hospitals and community settings in ten centres (i.e. Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Qambar Shahdakot, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan).

Consented participants meeting eligibility criteria will be randomised in a 1:1:1 allocation to CaCBT + TAU, CulFI + TAU or TAU alone. Participants in CaCBT intervention group will receive 12-weekly one-to-one sessions. Participants in CulFI group will receive 10-weekly one-to-one sessions. Each CaCBT and CulFI session will last for approximately 1 hour. Sessions will be delivered by trained psychologists who will receive regular weekly supervision to maintain fidelity. Assessments will be carried out at baseline, months 3, 6, and 12 by trained, blinded assessors. . Process evaluation will help to build the implementation knowledge base for proposed interventions across study settings. We will conduct economic evaluations (i.e., the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses) of the CaCBT and CulFI interventions, as add-on to TAU.

Inclusion criteria

for patient participants:

• Individuals of all genders aged over 18 years; diagnosis of schizophrenia confirmed by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) meeting DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective psychosis
• Scored at least 4 on the PANSS delusions or hallucinations items, or at least 5 on suspiciousness, persecution, or grandiosity items
• stable on medication for the past four weeks
• in contact with mental health services
• within 3 years of diagnosis
• able to demonstrate the capacity to provide informed consent to take part in the study
• potential participants must have a carer or relative who is also willing to participate in the study to be eligible

Exclusion criteria

for patient participants:

• Active DSM-5 substance use disorder (except nicotine or caffeine) or dependence within the last three months
• A score of 5 or more on the PANSS conceptual disorganisation item
• Individuals who have received structured psychological intervention within the past 3 months
• Relevant CNS or other medical disorders that would impact participation
• Diagnosis of intellectual disability
• Unstable residential arrangements

Family member/Carer participant inclusion criteria:

• Living with or spending at least 10 hours per week in face-to-face contact with an individual with early psychosis and assuming a caring role
• Age>18 years
• Able to give informed written consent.

Family member/Carer participant exclusion criteria:

• Active DSM-5 substance use disorder
• Received psychological intervention within the past 3 months
• Unstable residential arrangements.