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Background: Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are frequently associated with poor long term outcomes. Established interventions have little, if any, positive effects on negative symptoms. Arts Therapies such as Body Psychotherapy (BPT) have been suggested to reduce negative symptoms, but the existing evidence is limited. In a small exploratory trial a manualised form of group BPT led to significantly lower negative symptom levels both at the end of treatment and at 4 months follow-up as compared to supportive counseling. We designed a large multi-site trial to assess the effectiveness of a manualised BPT intervention in reducing negative symptoms, compared to an active control. Methods/Design: In a randomised controlled trial, 256 schizophrenic outpatients with negative symptoms will be randomly allocated either to BPT or Pilates groups. In both conditions, patients will be offered two 90 minutes sessions per week in groups of about 8 patients over a period of 10 weeks. Outcomes are assessed at the end of treatment and at six months follow-up. The primary outcome is severity of negative symptoms, as measured by the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), whilst a range of secondary outcome measures include general psychopathology, social contacts, and quality of life. We will also assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Discussion: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a promising form of group therapy which may help alleviate negative symptoms that are associated with unfavourable long-term outcomes and have so far been difficult to treat. If the trial is successful, it will add a new and effective option in the treatment of negative symptoms. Group BPT is manualised, might be attractive to many patients because of its unusual approach, and could potentially be rolled out to services at relatively little additional cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Persistent negative symptoms are an ongoing challenge in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia. Evidence from randomised controlled trials suggests that arts/non-verbal therapies may be effective in treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia. These treatments have not yet been evaluated in open clinical settings. The present uncontrolled clinical trial examines the therapeutic processes and clinical outcomes of group body psychotherapy (BPT) on marked negative symptoms in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Changes in symptom scores, subjective quality of life, social functioning and emotional processing between baseline and post-treatment were assessed. The ratings from clinical assessments of independent researchers were compared with the post-therapy summary assessment of the therapists. A total of 39 eligible patients were referred, out of which 18 patients agreed to participate and received BPT in addition to treatment as usual within three therapy groups run by different therapists. Patients had high symptom levels and low psychosocial functioning at baseline. Negative symptoms and general psychopathology significantly reduced during treatment. Positive symptoms and other outcomes did not change. Researcher ratings of psychopathology were in line with the assessment of clinical outcome by therapists and qualitative observations on changes in movement behaviour during therapy. The results of this study are consistent with findings from a RCT (), indicating that BPT is associated with reduced negative symptoms even when administered in routine clinical settings. Therapists’ qualitative judgements may be considered as a valid source for assessing treatment outcomes. Future studies should explore effects of longer term treatments on other outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]