This book contains concrete and step by step information with many practical examples. It is in line with the most actual international empirical findings about schizophrenia and contains the most updated therapy approach being available currently. The techniques and exercises (partly computer-based) are described in detail. Case examples point out specific therapeutic situations and teach the therapist how to cope with complicated group and individual demands. Assessment for patient selection, differential indication and therapy control within a multi-dimensional treatment and rehabilitation system are discussed. INT was evaluated successfully in an international randomised multi-centre study. In the meantime it is implemented in many clinical settings in German speaking countries. Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy (INT) is a cognitive remediation therapy approach. INT is the first treatment manual comprising all MATRICS areas (Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia). The NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health, USA) initiated this MATRICS initiative. MATRICS defines 11 neurocognitive and social cognitive areas of functioning being relevant for patients with schizophrenia. The improvement of these areas in a group therapy is the main goal of INT. INT is based on IPT (Integrated Psychological Therapy, Roder et al 2010). It is a resource and a recovery oriented intervention to enhance also therapy motivation and self-esteem and to reduce negative symptoms. Therapy focuses especially on group processes and the exercises augment transfer and generalisation to daily life. As a meta goal INT intends to amend life quality and the reintegration of the patients in the community. The presented manual offers the clinicians a practically orientated guide for carrying out INT.

Table of Contents Preface Foreword A. Theoretical Background and Treatment Approaches: An Overview 1 Theoretical Basis of Cognitive Behavioral Treatments 1.1 Systemic Vulnerability - Stress Models 1.2 Systemic Models in Clinical Application 2 Treatment Approaches and Empirical Results: An Overview 2.1 Psychoeducation and Family Therapy 2.2 Cognitive Behavior Therapy for (Persistent) Positive Symptoms 2.3 Social Competence Approaches 2.4 Cognitive Remediation B. IPT: Indication, Therapy, Assessment, Evaluation 3. Conditions for Carrying Out the Therapy Program: Implementation and Indication 3.1 Institutional Conditions 3.2 Patients 3.3 Group Makeup 3.4 Therapists 3.5 Differential Indication for Carrying Out the IPT 4 The Therapy Program and Its Five Subprograms - An Overview 4.1 General Structure and Integration into a Multimodal Treatment Concept 4.2 Cognitive Differentiation 4.3 Social Perception 4.4 Verbal Communication 4.5 Social Skills 4.6 Interpersonal Problem Solving 5. Implementation of the Five IPT Subprograms 5.1 General Considerations 5.2 Cognitive Differentiation 5.3 Social Perception 5.4 Verbal Communication 5.5 Social Skills 5.6 Interpersonal Problem Solving 5.7 Group Processes Considerations 6 Assessment and Therapy Planning 6.1 Problem Analysis 6.2 Assessment Instruments 6.3 Self- and Expert Rating System 7 Description and Discussion of Empirical Results C. Further Development of the IPT 8. Introduction 8.1 Cognitive Subprograms: The INT - Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy 8.2 Social Skills Subprograms: The WAF* - Vocational, Residential, and Recreational Skills Appendix: Therapy Materials and Questionnaires (Worksheets) Bibliography

Research shows that neuro- and social cognition have a decisive influence on functional outcome in people with schizophrenia. In this publication, world-renowned experts summarize the latest research on approaches to assessing and treating cognition in schizophrenia. The book is organized to take the reader through the steps from definitions and assessment of cognition to research on the relevance of cognition in everyday life, to chapters which focus on treatments for cognitive disorders. The reader will learn about the NIMH MATRICS initiative which has provided clinicians and researchers with the tools to define and assess neuro- and social cognitive functioning in people with schizophrenia. Then the treatments for neuro and social cognitive deficits are discussed in several chapters which give an overview of cognitive remediation approaches, accompanied by concrete treatment examples. The reader will also learn about the latest results of pharmacological interventions for cognitive deficits. A final chapter focuses on the importance of addressing motivational deficits when treating cognition, and offers treatment approaches to enhance motivation. This publication is essential reading for clinicians and researchers in the fields of psychiatry, psychology as well as students and other professions working with people who have schizophrenia.

Individuals with schizophrenia and related disorders experience significant functioning deficits in the community. The study of social cognition in schizophrenia has grown rapidly over the past decade, and a consensus has developed among researchers that dysfunction in social cognition may contribute to the severe interpersonal problems that are a hallmark of schizophrenia. This has generated hope that treatments which improve social cognition in this illness may enhance an individual's ability to live a socially engaged and rewarding life. Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: From Evidence to Treatment provides a firm grounding in the theory and research of normal social cognition, builds on this base to describe how social cognition appears to be dysfunctional in schizophrenia, and explains how this dysfunction might be ameliorated. Composed of contributed chapters written by the top experts in the field, the volume is divided into three parts to address each of these areas. Part I, Foundations of Human Social Cognition, explores normal social cognition in childhood development, adulthood, and across cultures, as well the brain-bases of social cognition and clinical social cognition research. Part II, Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: Descriptive and Experimental Research, discusses social cognition and functional outcome, emotion processing, Theory of Mind, paranoid ideation, social cognition in early psychosis, and the social cognitive neuroscience of schizophrenia. Part III, Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: Treatment Approaches, focuses on findings from current treatment outcome research as well as several leading social cognitive intervention approaches-Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy (INT), Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET), Metacognitive Training (MCT), and Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT). This comprehensive, accessible volume will be invaluable to researchers studying social cognition and psychosocial treatment development in schizophrenia, clinicians working with this patient population, students in social and clinical psychology, nursing, social work and occupational therapy, and medical students.

The evolution of cognitive-based therapies for schizophrenia is changing psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia. This text describes the state of the art. Divided into three main sections, covering the theoretical background, practical applications, and research results, it integrates the clinical and research experience of groups from around the world. The cognitive therapies and treatment approaches discussed attempt to alleviate certain target symptoms of the disorder through selective cognitive behavioural techniques.

Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: From Evidence to Treatment provides a firm grounding in the theory and research of normal social cognition, builds on this base to describe how social cognition appears to be dysfunctional in schizophrenia, and explains how this dysfunction might be ameliorated.