RESEARCH
Treatment Effect of Antipsychotics in Combination with Horticultural Therapy on Patients with Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study
Summary
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the effect of horticultural therapy (HT) combined with antipsychotic medication on patients with schizophrenia. 110 patients were selected and randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving standard medication plus HT or a control group receiving medication alone. The HT intervention, led by a qualified rehabilitation therapist, lasted 12 weeks with three 90-minute sessions per week. Activities included ridging, planting, watering, fertilizing, and pruning flowers; plowing, sowing, weeding, and pest control in gardens; and appreciating, collecting vegetables, cooking, and tasting. Each session concluded with patients sharing their thoughts and experiences.
The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to measure the treatment effect on both groups at baseline, the end of the 4th week, and the end of the 12th week. The results showed that the intervention group had statistically significant lower PANSS scores compared to the control group at both the 4-week and 12-week marks. Significant differences were also observed in positive and general psychopathology scale scores. The study concluded that while antipsychotic medications alleviate psychiatric symptoms in schizophrenia patients, combining them with HT is even more effective for treating both positive and negative symptoms.
