Social cognition in first-episode schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder patients.

Introduction: People with schizophrenia have neurocognitive as well as social cognition deficits. Numerous studies have shown impairment in these domains in patients with chronic schizophrenia. However, these disturbances during the early phase of the disease have been less studied.

Effectiveness of family work interventions on schizophrenia: evidence from a multicentre study in Catalonia.

Background: Despite their proven efficacy, family work interventions on families of patients with schizophrenia are not being implemented in routine clinical practice in contexts where expressed emotion levels among caregivers are relatively high.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of a family work intervention in a Mediterranean environment in Catalonia, Spain.

Method: Participants were 23 patients and 35 key relatives in five different clinical settings.