Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30376124›Full record

Trial reportSchizophrenia bulletin2019

Individualized Metacognitive Training (MCT+) Reduces Delusional Symptoms in Psychosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Ryan P Balzan, Julie K Mattiske, Paul Delfabbro, Dennis Liu, Cherrie Galletly

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Schizophrenia bulletin, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07309302 (Psychosocial Determinants and Impact of a Synchronous Remote Cognitive Remediation Program on Individuals With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07309302 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Psychosocial Determinants and Impact of a Synchronous Remote Cognitive Remediation Program on Individuals With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversité du Québec a MontréalRan2025 to 2026Enrolled64ConditionsPost Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSDArmsCognitive Remediation Training, Control Group
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Metacognitive training (MCT) for psychosis: a systematic review and grade recommendations.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Efficacy of metacognitive therapies in first-episode psychosis: a systematic review.Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater · 2026
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Metacognitive training for psychosis (MCT): past, present, and future.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2023
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ryan P BalzanCollege of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Julie K MattiskeCollege of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Paul DelfabbroSchool of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Dennis LiuDiscipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Cherrie GalletlyDiscipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Flinders University · AUUniversity of Adelaide · AUSA Health · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Individualized metacognitive training (MCT+) is a novel psychotherapy that has been designed to specifically target delusional beliefs in people with psychosis. It works by developing an awareness of the implausible content of delusional beliefs, while also targeting the cognitive biases that contribute to their formation and maintenance. It was expected that MCT+ would lead to significantly greater reductions in delusional severity compared to a cognitive remediation (CR) active control condition. A total of 54 patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder and active delusions were randomized into four 2-hourly sessions of MCT+ (n = 27) or CR (n = 27). All participants completed posttreatment assessment, and only 2 participants did not complete 6-month follow-up assessment, resulting in MCT+ (n = 26) and CR (n = 26) for final analysis. The primary outcome measures of delusional and positive symptom severity were assessed rater-blind; secondary outcome assessment was non-blinded and included clinical and cognitive insight, the jumping to conclusions (JTC) bias, and cognitive functioning. Participants in the MCT+ condition showed significant reductions in delusional and overall positive symptom severity (large effect) and improved clinical insight (moderate effect) relative to CR controls. In contrast, CR controls showed moderate improvement in problem-solving ability relative to MCT+, but no other cognitive domain. Importantly, these findings were maintained at 6-month follow-up. The study adds further efficacy to the MCT program, and suggests that even brief psychotherapy can help to ameliorate the symptoms of psychosis.

Indexed as

Outcome Assessment, Health CareSeverity of Illness IndexAdultCognitive Behavioral TherapyDelusionsFemaleHumansMaleMetacognitionMiddle AgedPsychotic DisordersSchizophrenia

Identifiers

PMID30376124
PMCPMC6293215
OpenAlexW2899330332

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.