Long-term efficacy of brief psychotherapies for refugees in low-resource settings is insufficiently understood. Integrative adapt therapy (IAT) is a scalable treatment addressing refugee-specific psychosocial challenges.

We report 12-month post-treatment data from a single-blind, active-controlled trial (October 2017–August 2019) where 327 Myanmar refugees in Malaysia were assigned to either six sessions of IAT (n = 164) or cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) (n = 163). Primary outcomes were posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) symptom scores at treatment end and 12-month post-treatment. Secondary outcome was functional impairment.

282 (86.2%) participants were retained at 12-month follow-up. For both groups, large treatment effects for common mental disorders (CMD) symptoms were maintained at 12-month post-treatment compared to baseline (d = 0.75–1.13). Although participants in IAT had greater symptom reductions and larger effect sizes than CBT participants for all CMDs at treatment end, there were no significant differences between treatment arms at 12-month post-treatment for PTSD [mean difference: −0.9, 95% CI (−2.5 to 0.6), p = 0.25], depression [mean difference: 0.1, 95% CI (−0.6 to 0.7), p = 0.89), anxiety [mean difference: −0.4, 95% CI (−1.4 to 0.6), p = 0.46], and PCBD [mean difference: −0.6, 95% CI (−3.1 to 1.9), p = 0.65]. CBT participants showed greater improvement in functioning than IAT participants at 12-month post-treatment [mean difference: −2.5, 95% CI (−4.7 to −0.3], p = 0.03]. No adverse effects were recorded for either therapy.

Both IAT and CBT showed sustained treatment gains for CMD symptoms amongst refugees over the 12-month period.

There is a high need for evidence-based psychosocial treatments for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to offer alongside treatment as usual (TAU). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a promising psychosocial treatment. This trial investigated the efficacy of MBCT + TAU v. TAU in reducing core symptoms in adults with ADHD.

A multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02463396). Participants were randomly assigned to MBCT + TAU (n = 60), an 8-weekly group therapy including meditation exercises, psychoeducation and group discussions, or TAU only (n = 60), which reflected usual treatment in the Netherlands and included pharmacotherapy and/or psychoeducation. Primary outcome was ADHD symptoms rated by blinded clinicians. Secondary outcomes included self-reported ADHD symptoms, executive functioning, mindfulness skills, self-compassion, positive mental health and general functioning. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, 3- and 6-month follow-up. Post-treatment effects at group and individual level, and follow-up effects were examined.

In MBCT + TAU patients, a significant reduction of clinician-rated ADHD symptoms was found at post-treatment [M difference = −3.44 (−5.75, −1.11), p = 0.004, d = 0.41]. This effect was maintained until 6-month follow-up. More MBCT + TAU (27%) than TAU participants (4%) showed a ⩽30% reduction of ADHD symptoms (p = 0.001). MBCT + TAU patients compared with TAU patients also reported significant improvements in ADHD symptoms, mindfulness skills, self-compassion and positive mental health at post-treatment, which were maintained until 6-month follow-up. Although patients in MBCT + TAU compared with TAU reported no improvement in executive functioning at post-treatment, they did report improvement at 6-month follow-up.

MBCT might be a valuable treatment option alongside TAU for adult ADHD aimed at alleviating symptoms.

In this review, we study the effects of dyadic psychosocial interventions focused on community-dwelling people with dementia and their family caregivers, and the relationship of the effects with intervention components of programs.

A search from January 2005 to January 2012 led to 613 hits, which we reviewed against our inclusion criteria. We added studies from 1992 to 2005 reviewed by Smits et al. (Smits, C. H. M., De Lange, J., Droes, R.-M., Meiland, F., Vernooij-Dassen, M. and Pot, A. M. (2007). Effects of combined intervention programs for people with dementia living at home and their caregivers: a systematic review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, 1181–1193). We assessed the methodological quality of 41 programs with the Cochrane criteria and two items of the Oxford Centre of Evidence-based Medicine guidelines.

Studies of moderate to high quality concerning 20 different dyadic psychosocial programs for people with dementia and caregivers were included. Nineteen of these programs show significant effects on the patient with dementia, the caregiver, or both. Due to differences in the programs and the studies, this study does not provide an unequivocal answer about which programs are most effective. Programs with intervention components that actively train one or more specific functional domains for the person with dementia and/or the caregiver seem to have a beneficial impact on that domain, although there are exceptions. Reasons can be found in the program itself, the implementation of the program, and the study design.

Dyadic psychosocial programs are effective, but the outcomes for the person with dementia and the caregiver vary. More attention is needed for matching the targeted functional domains, intervention components, and delivery characteristics of a program with the needs of the person with dementia and the family caregiver.

Cognitive rehabilitation has emerged as an effective treatment for addressing cognitive impairments and functional disability in schizophrenia; however, the degree to which changes in various social and non-social cognitive processes translate into improved functioning during treatment remains unclear. This research sought to identify the neurocognitive and social-cognitive mechanisms of functional improvement during a 2-year trial of cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) for early-course schizophrenia.

Patients in the early course of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to CET (n=31) or an enriched supportive therapy control (n=27) and treated for up to 2 years. A comprehensive neurocognitive assessment battery and the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) were completed annually, along with measures of functioning. Mediator analyses using mixed-effects growth models were conducted to examine the effects of neurocognitive and social-cognitive improvement on functional change.

Improvements over 2 years in neurocognition and the emotion management branch of the MSCEIT were found to be significantly related to improved functional outcome in early-course schizophrenia patients. Neurocognitive improvement, primarily in executive functioning, and social-cognitive change in emotion management also mediated the robust effects of CET on functioning.

Improvements in neurocognition and social cognition that result from cognitive rehabilitation are both significant mediators of functional improvement in early-course schizophrenia. Cognitive rehabilitation programs for schizophrenia may need to target deficits in both social and non-social cognition to achieve an optimal functional response.