Tracking the Linguistic Signatures of Motivational Interviewing in Acute Psychosis
Key facts
- Where
- Zurich, SwitzerlandSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 65 years old?
Source: NCT05911529, who can take part
Where in Switzerland
- Psychiatric University Hospital ZurichZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich
- Trial code
- NCT05911529
- Record updated
- 10 November 2026
- Original description
Psychotic disorders are associated with high levels of distress, limitations in quality of life, and a high risk of chronification for those affected. The treatment guidelines recommend combining the pharmacological treatment with psychotherapeutic methods, starting already in the acute phase. At the same time, there is little research evidence on which mechanisms of psychotherapy are most effective and best feasible for the acute setting. Therefore, the aim is to run a pilot study to test specific psychotherapeutic interventions for patients with psychosis on acute psychiatric wards.Read full original descriptionShow less
Tracking the Linguistic Signatures of Motivational Interviewing in Acute Psychosis (Former: Motivational Interviewing for Patients With Acute Psychosis)
Psychotic disorders are associated with high levels of distress, limitations in quality of life, and a high risk of chronification for those affected. The treatment guidelines recommend combining the pharmacological treatment with psychotherapeutic methods, starting already in the acute phase. At the same time, there is little research evidence on which mechanisms of psychotherapy are most effective and best feasible for the acute setting. Therefore, the aim is to run a pilot study to test specific psychotherapeutic interventions for patients with psychosis on acute psychiatric wards.
The method of "Motivational Interviewing" is a well-known and established interviewing technique, which originally comes from the treatment of addictive disorders. In this study, it is used to strengthen the therapeutic alliance between patient and practitioner already in the acute phase of the disease, to increase adherence, and thus to achieve the overall goal of better integrating patients with pronounced positive symptoms into treatment. This appears to be extremely important, as non-adherence represents one of the greatest risks for chronification of the disease. The intervention will subsequently be evaluated in comparison to "treatment as usual".
Inclusion: Informed consent as documented by signature; Male and female patients from inpatient units of the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich; ICD-10 diagnosis of a mental disorder with psychotic symptoms, including schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders (F20-F29), affective disorders with psychotic features (F30.2, F31.2, F31.5, F32.3, F33.3) and substance-induced psychotic disorders (F1x.5); Fluent in German and able to understand the instructions.
Exclusion: Drug or alcohol abuse during treatment; Previous enrolment in the current study; During study: Complete stop of taking antipsychotic medications; Organic schizophrenia-like disorder (ICD: F0.6); Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons.