Training Hospitalized Patients With Sdhizophrenia in Community Reintegration Skills

Objective: The study examined the effectiveness of the Community Re-En-try Program, a brief, time-limited skills training module designed to help acutely ill inpatients become engaged in community-based treatment pro-grams. Methods: Of 84 consecutive admissions to a chronic psychotic disor-ders unit, 44 completed assessments and attended the Community Re-Entry Program. The program consists of 16 daily small-group therapy sessions that engage the patient in efforts to define discharge readiness, identify symp-toms and medication effects, and assist with discharge planning. Skill levels and positive and negative symptoms were assessed on admission and on com-pletion of training, and a subsample of patients received two-week postdis-charge follow-up assessments. Results: From admission to discharge, positive symptoms diminished substantially, negative symptoms diminished to a less-er but statistically significant degree, and skill levels increased significantly. Posttraining skill level was predicted by pretraining skill level and level of participation in the skills training module. Patients ’ symptom levels did no