Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Patients with a First Psychotic Episode.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Effective treatment for mental disorders, particularly first-episode psychosis, remains a priority.
• Current approaches often focus on symptom control, with a need for enhanced rehabilitation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an integrated approach for early diagnostics and rehabilitation of patients with first-episode psychosis.
• To evaluate the efficacy of combining pharmacotherapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Main Methods:

• Integration of drug therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
• Focus on developing psychological flexibility through ACT processes: acceptance, cognitive defusion, present moment contact, self-understanding, values awareness, and committed action.
• Development of stage-specific treatment recommendations by specialists.

Main Results:

• ACT-based psychological rehabilitation demonstrated effectiveness for psychotic disorders with both negative and positive symptoms.
• Application of ACT in early diagnostics and treatment led to reduced readmission rates.
• Improved psychosocial functioning was observed in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Conclusions:

• The combined approach of pharmacotherapy and ACT offers a promising strategy for managing first-episode psychosis.
• This integrated model enhances patient rehabilitation and long-term psychosocial functioning.
• ACT's focus on psychological flexibility provides an alternative to purely symptom-focused treatments.