Self-help has been shown to be an effective intervention for a wide range of mental health problems. However, there is less evidence on the efficacy of self-help for psychosis and, to date, there has been no systematic review. A search of bibliographic databases identified 24 relevant studies with a total sample size of N=1816. Ten studies adopted a repeated measures design and 14 an independent group design (including RCTs and quasi-experimental studies). Self-help interventions had, on average, a small-to-medium-sized effect on overall symptoms (d+=0.33, 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.48). Sub-analyses revealed that self-help interventions had a small-to-medium-sized effect on positive symptoms (d+=0.42, 95% CI: 0.13 to 0.72), a small-to-medium-sized effect on negative symptoms (d+=0.37, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.66), and a small-sized effect on outcomes associated with the symptoms of psychosis such as quality of life (d+=0.13, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.24). Moderation analysis identified a number of factors that influenced treatment effects including the complexity of the intervention and amount of contact time. Self-help interventions for psychosis have a lot of potential and recommendations for further research are discussed.
Keywords: Meta-analysis; Psychosis; Self-help.
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