Metacognitive training modified for negative symptoms: A feasibility study

OBJECTIVE: Although patients often prioritize the treatment of negative symptoms, few psychological interventions targeting negative symptoms exist. This study attempts to fill this gap by piloting a modified metacognitive training programme, specifically targeted at negative symptoms (MCT-N), with a group of patients with prominent negative symptoms.

METHOD: We adopted a mixed methods case series design, providing detailed quantitative data on changes over time, to focus on potential mechanisms underlying the intervention, in combination with qualitative interviews.

RESULTS: The intervention showed good feasibility as demonstrated by the attendance rate, the positive feedback from participants and the multidisciplinary team, and the improvements on negative symptoms observed following the intervention. Multilevel modelling showed that depression, internalized stigma and reflective functioning explained the variance in negative symptoms.

DISCUSSION: The pilot study indicated that the intervention has high feasibility and that improvements in negative symptoms can be partially explained by improvements on depression, stigma and reflective functioning.