Effectiveness of Motivation Skills Training (MST)

Description

This study will take place at four outpatient clinics serving adults with serious mental illness. Informed consent will be obtained from N=80 individuals with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses (DSM)-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria to participate in a randomized controlled trial comparing Motivation Skills Training (MST) to a Healthy Behaviors Control (HBC) group. Eligible participants will receive a baseline assessment including sociodemographic and psychosocial assessments, measures of motivation, goal attainment, and quality of life, as well as measures of executive skills, community functioning, and psychiatric symptoms severity. Both MST and HBC will be implemented as once weekly group therapies. The treatment phase is approximately 12-14 weeks. MST will focus on motivation knowledge and self-regulation skills while HBC will focus on physical health and health-related skills.

Conditions

Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

This study will take place at four outpatient clinics serving adults with serious mental illness. Informed consent will be obtained from N=80 individuals with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses (DSM)-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria to participate in a randomized controlled trial comparing Motivation Skills Training (MST) to a Healthy Behaviors Control (HBC) group. Eligible participants will receive a baseline assessment including sociodemographic and psychosocial assessments, measures of motivation, goal attainment, and quality of life, as well as measures of executive skills, community functioning, and psychiatric symptoms severity. Both MST and HBC will be implemented as once weekly group therapies. The treatment phase is approximately 12-14 weeks. MST will focus on motivation knowledge and self-regulation skills while HBC will focus on physical health and health-related skills.

Motivation Skills Training to Enhance Functional Outcomes for People With Schizophrenia

Effectiveness of Motivation Skills Training (MST)

Condition
Schizophrenia
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

New York

The Bridge, Inc., New York, New York, United States, 10025

New York

New York State Office of Mental Health, New York, New York, United States, 10032

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • 1. Age 18-65
  • 2. DSM-5 Diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder
  • 3. Medically and psychiatrically stable outpatient status
  • 4. English Fluency
  • 1. Indications of Intellectual Disability as documented in medical history or measured by \< 70 premorbid full scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) estimate
  • 2. Severe substance use within the past three months determined by DSM-5 criteria
  • 3. Neurologic condition causing brain disease
  • 4. Mild to severe cognitive impairment associated with possible dementia measured by a Mini Mental Status Exam score below 20 in individuals ages 60 and older

Ages Eligible for Study

18 Years to 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

Columbia University,

Alice Saperstein, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Columbia University

Study Record Dates

2025-11-30