Effects of Metacognitive Training on Cognitive Biases in People with Schizophrenia and on their Relationships with their Therapists

Abstract

Metacognitive Training (MCT) is a psychoeducational program that is purposed with correcting the cognitive biases observed in people with schizophrenia. This study administers MCT to people with schizophrenia living in the community, in order to investigate the effects of MCT on their cognitive biases and relationships of trust between them and the people administering MCT. The participants included 12 people with schizophrenia availing a psychiatric daycare or non-profit organization’s facilities. The Japan-Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis (JCBQp), theory of mind tasks, and psychological distance measurements were performed to evaluate the effect of MCT. The results showed significantly reduced total JCBQp scores after MCT and found significant differences in the composing factors, including “anomalous perceptions,” “threatening events,” “intentionalising,” “catastrophizing,” “jumping to con­clusions,” and “emotional reasoning,” between pre- and post-MCT. No significant differences existed in theory of mind tasks. Psychological distance decreased in some participants and increased in others, suggesting that MCT might affect the relationship between the person administering MCT and the participant in aspects other than trust, affection, or closeness.