Clinical Research Directory

Healing Stigma Through Stories

This study is the first phase of the research project. The purpose of this phase is to develop and refine a narrative-based intervention designed to reduce self-stigma among people with schizophrenia. A small pilot study will be conducted with 24 participants recruited from halfway houses in northern Taiwan. Eligible participants will receive the intervention, which consists of four group sessions and four individual sessions, held once a week for a total of eight weeks. The program uses narrative therapy techniques to help participants explore their personal experiences and reduce self-stigma. Participants will complete a workbook during the program, and the written content will be analyzed to better understand their experiences with stigma. Any personal information will be removed to protect participants' privacy. Before and after the intervention, participants will complete questionnaires on self-stigma, depression, social functioning, well-being, hope, and recovery. Information on medication use will also be collected. Group and individual sessions will be audio-recorded for research purposes. The questionnaire data and recordings will be used to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects of the intervention.

FEEL-GOOD: A Multicenter Trial of a Mindfulness-Based Group Therapy in Young Adults With Early Psychosis

FEEL-GOOD is a prospective multi-site single-blinded randomized controlled trial in young inpatients with acute early psychosis. Participants are randomized 1:1 to FEEL-GOOD plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone. The intervention consists of one individual preparatory session and eight modularized group sessions delivered over four weeks involving four to eight participants at each session and including practice and homework tasks. Outcomes are assessed at baseline, 4 weeks post-intervention, and 6 months follow-up, with the primary outcome being observer-rated total psychopathology as measured with the assessed by the total score of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) post-treatment (4 weeks post baseline).

Brain Imaging of Cognition Inn Schizophrenia and Depression

Schizophrenia and depression are among the most disabling disorders in all of medicine. Cognitive deficits play a key role in patients' disability, affecting their capacity to contribute actively to society by sustaining employment or academic activity. Moreover, cognitive difficulties tend to persist even after the stabilization of other clinical symptoms. Verbal memory and emotion regulation are two important cognitive domains that are impaired in schizophrenia and depression and are associated with patients' functional outcomes. In this study, brain imaging is used to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying these cognitive deficits in these populations.