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Abstract
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders affect approximately 1% of the population worldwide, with 73 million lives directly impacted by this pervasive illness (Escobar, 2015; Li et al., 2014; Oquendo et al., 2014). The driving treatment force for schizophrenia has originated from Western countries; these treatments often take center stage in the battle for treating schizophrenia and are considered the gold standard. Although convincing evidence was found supporting the pivotal role of Western theory-driven psychosocial interventions in successful recovery, efforts of adopting recovery-oriented treatments are still limited in China. This dissertation project aimed to translate and implement a well-established recovery-oriented psychological treatment, Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT) in a Chinese psychiatric hospital in Wuxi and examine its effectiveness. Sixty three participants were randomized into either the experimental group or the control group (treatment-as-usual). Although treatment effects from this project were not as robust as found in previous studies (Mueller, Schmidt & Roder, 2013; Ruiz et al., 2011; Spaulding et al., 1999; Zimmer et al., 2007), this study concluded that IPT is highly feasible; participants were engaged with IPT and demonstrated treatment impact on utilization of coping strategies, severity of symptomology, quality of life and fearful attribution bias toward people with SMI. More importantly, these results illuminate the moderating effects of sociotherapeutic environments to optimize treatment delivery.
