Cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials

Background: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) forms the standard psychotherapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). We aimed to summarize and evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of CBT for SSD. Methods: In this umbrella review, we searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Database, and PsychInfo, for meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of CBT in SSD published between database inception up to Aug 18, 2023. Inclusion criteria were RCTs investigating individually provided CBT in a population of patients with SSD, compared to either standard care, treatment as usually, or any other psychosocial therapies. No restrictions concerning follow-up or language were applied. We used the "assessment of multiple systematic reviews" (AMSTAR-2) appraisal checklist for the evaluation of methodological quality of meta-analysis. We extracted summary metrics from eligible studies in duplicate. The strength of evidence was classified by the sample size, p-value, excess significance bias, prediction intervals, significance of largest study, and heterogeneity. The strength of evidence was ranked according to established criteria as: convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, weak, or not significant. Primary outcomes were general psychopathology, positive and negative symptoms. This study is registered in PROSPERO, CRD42022334671. Findings: = 64.63) was found for negative symptoms at EoT. At longer follow-up, evidence became weak or non-significant. Interpretation: Findings suggest that the effectiveness of CBT on general and positive symptoms in SSD at EoT was small to medium, while we found inconsistent evidence for a sustainable effect. CBT has no convincing impact on other relevant outcomes. Guidelines may use these results to specify their recommendations. Funding: None.