Treatment at a transitional residential facility: Effects on positive and negative symptomology

Traditional treatment for schizophrenia addresses behaviors that are present in excess (positive symptoms) but neglects behaviors that are absent (negative symptoms). This leaves individuals unprepared for living in a least restrictive setting and results in recurring placements in community settings, an increase in symptoms, and consequent return to treatment and stabilization in an inpatient psychiatric facility. Within an institutional cycle design with nine cohort groups of individuals, this study used archival data from a facility that prepares individuals for community placement to investigate the efficacy of a treatment approach designed to reduce both positive and negative symptomology and decrease use of inpatient psychiatric facilities. The results indicate small effects on positive and negative symptomology but substantial reductions in the use of inpatient psychiatric facilities