North Wales randomized controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for acute schizophrenia spectrum disorders: two-year follow-up and economic evaluation.

Background: There is good evidence now that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is effective in the treatment of people suffering from schizophrenia. There is also some evidence that the benefits of CBT persist after the end of treatment and that the direct costs of providing CBT as an adjunct to standard care are no higher than the direct costs of standard care alone. The aims of the present study were to discover if the benefits of CBT for acute schizophrenia which were found 1 year after index admission persist for another year, and to evaluate the comparative costs of providing CBT.

The concurrent validity of the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).

Background: Few studies of the validity of the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) have been published and none has shown how GAF ratings are associated with concurrent ratings of symptoms and social functioning. This article provides such data.

Method: Patients suffering from schizophrenia were assessed at admission to hospital and at six- and 12-month follow-up, using the GAF, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Social Behaviour Schedule.