There is not much evidence for the effectiveness of treatments in the early onset psychosis. Antipsychotic drugs and psychological intervention are both recommended evaluation methods for early-onset psychosis. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the antipsychotic medication, psychological intervention, and a combination of both in adults with first-episode psychosis.
The researchers conducted a multicenter pilot and feasibility trial according to a randomized, three-arm, single-blind, controlled design. The study included 101 participants aged 14-18 years with a first episode of psychosis in the past year.
The participants were assigned antipsychotics, psychological intervention, and antipsychotics plus psychological intervention in a 1:1:1 ratio.
Out of 101 patients in the study, 61 were recruited, 22 of whom were randomly assigned to antipsychotics, 18 to psychological intervention, and 21 to antipsychotics and psychological intervention.
A good clinical response was achieved in 22% of patients receiving antipsychotic monotherapy, 31% in the ones receiving psychological intervention, and 29% in the ones receiving antipsychotics and psychological intervention.
The research concluded that psychological intervention is more effective than antipsychotic medication. The combination of antipsychotics and psychological intervention is likely to produce better results than an antipsychotic medication therapy alone.
Ref: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30248-0/fulltext
