--- title: Schizophrenics Benefit Most From Mix of Talk Therapy, Drugs description: A government-funded study reduced antipsychotic prescriptions up to 50% and saw a dramatic improvement in patient wellbeing. canonical: https://time.com/4079516/schizophrenia-talk-therapy/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-20T15:20:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:55:42.176Z article:section: Health og:title: Schizophrenics Benefit Most From Talk Therapy and Lower Drug Doses og:description: Researchers saw results when they reduced prescriptions by up to 50% og:url: https://time.com/4079516/schizophrenia-talk-therapy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Schizophrenics Benefit Most From Talk Therapy and Lower Drug Doses twitter:description: Researchers saw results when they reduced prescriptions by up to 50% twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Talk Therapy Combined With Drugs Is Best Way to Treat Schizophrenia, Experts Suggest > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b5f0b317-1818-4f3d-a197-f902448bbb6d&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Oct 20, 2015 3:20 PM UTC  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Oct 20, 2015 3:20 PM UTC Schizophrenic patients who receive one-on-one talk therapy along with lower doses of antispychotic drugs showed marked signs of improvement compared to patients who only got antipsychotics, a new government-funded study found. The report, set to be published on Tuesday in _The American Journal of Psychiatry_ and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is one of the most sweeping studies on the disease, [reports the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/health/talk-therapy-found-to-ease-schizophrenia.html), and suggests a new way to treat patients. The study found schizophrenics who benefited most from talk therapy included those who experienced their first psychotic episodes in their early 20s. The study followed 404 patients: half received the traditional treatment of antipsychotic drugs and half received doses of the drugs that were up to 50% lower, along with a triple social support approach involving assistance with school, discussions with family members and talk therapy to help manage symptoms. The study suggests an alternative to the current methods of dealing with schizophrenia, which involve heavy doses of antipsychotic drugs. While useful in easing hallucinations and delusions, side effects are damaging and often involve severe weight gain, drowsiness, tremors and a difficulty expressing emotions. The side effects push an estimated three-quarters of patients to stop taking medications within a year and a half. The report’s findings have already been incorporated into new recommendations released last Friday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which advised a dual program of talk therapy and antipsychotics for schizophrenic patients. Talk therapy has increasingly become a favored method of treatment. In 2014, Congress set aside $25 million in grants to states for early-intervention mental health programs; 32 states have hopped on, with an emphasis on combining therapy and drugs. Experts are optimistic that talk therapy could improve quality of life for both schizophrenic patients and their family members. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4079516/schizophrenia-talk-therapy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4079516/schizophrenia-talk-therapy/"},"headline":"Talk Therapy Combined With Drugs Is Best Way to Treat Schizophrenia, Experts Suggest","datePublished":"2015-10-20T15:20:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:55:42.176Z","description":"The government-funded study found success with lowering antipsychotic use by up to 50%","url":"https://time.com/4079516/schizophrenia-talk-therapy/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Public Health","Research","schizophrenia"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-healthpsychology/","name":"Mental Health/Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4079516/schizophrenia-talk-therapy/","name":"Talk Therapy Combined With Drugs Is Best Way to Treat Schizophrenia, Experts Suggest"}}]}] ```