Effectiveness of Social Skills Training Groups in Persons with Severe Mental Illness: A Pre–Post Intervention Study
Priyadarshini Aruldass, Thamarai Selvi Sekar, Srikrithika Saravanan, Reema Samuel, KS Jacob
Abstract
Background: The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a social skills training program provided at the occupational therapy unit of a tertiary care center in India. Methods: The study used a pre-post interventional design where 101 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder, between 18 and 60 years, who provided written informed consent, were assessed on the Vellore Assessment of Social Performance (VASP) during the first week of attendance (baseline). Subsequently, they were enrolled in a six-session social skills group training program for two weeks. They were assessed on the VASP after one week (midterm assessment) and at the end (posttest) of the intervention. A follow-up assessment was done two weeks after cessation of the intervention. The participants were also scored on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at four time points. Results: (baseline, follow-up) = -8.71 and P = 0.001. The correlation between the BPRS and VASP scores was also significant at each time point. Conclusion: The social skills group training protocol seems to be effective and feasible for the Indian population. Since conducting multicenter clinical trials might not always be possible in resource-constrained settings, this study might be considered preliminary evidence for context-specific, peer-/family-supported social skills training.