Among individuals with Schizophrenia and co-occurring SubstanceUseDisorders, psychological and psychosocial interventions showed limited benefit for symptom reduction and no effect on substance use, except for nicotine.

Question What is the efficacy of psychological and psychosocial interventions for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and comorbidity with substance use disorders?

Findings This systematic review and meta-analysis included 35 studies (4136 participants), with data available from 29 trials involving 3,831 participants covered in pairwise meta-analysis. Psychological and psychosocial interventions offered a very small effect on reducing patients’ overall symptoms, and no difference was found between intervention and control groups in reduction of all types of substance use intake or when separately analyzed, whereas nicotine use showed a modest improvement.

Meaning Current psychological and psychological interventions provide limited benefit for symptom reduction and were largely ineffective in decreasing substance use, except for a slight positive effect on nicotine use, indicating that more effective treatment strategies are urgently needed.