Research article

A card game for the treatment of delusional ideas: A naturalistic pilot trial

Yasser Khazaal¹ , Jérôme Favrod² , Joël Libbrecht³ , Sophie Claude Finot⁴ , Silke Azoulay⁵ , Laetitia Benzakin⁶ , Myriam Oury-Delamotte⁷ , Christian Follack⁸ and Valentino Pomini²

¹  Département de Psychiatrie, Echallens 9, CH-1004 Lausanne, Switzerland

²  Département de psychiatrie – Site de Cery – CH-1008 Prilly, Switzerland

³  Les Marronniers, Rue Despars 94, B-7500 Tournai, Belgium

⁴  Hôpital psychiatrique de Malévoz, CH-1870 Monthey, Switzerland

⁵  Centre Psychosocial, Chante-Merle 84, CH-2502 Biel, Switzerland

⁶  Hôpital Chalucet, F- 83000 Toulon, France

⁷  Hôpital St-Jean de Dieu, F-69008 Lyon, France

⁸  Hôpital psychiatrique de Marsens, CH-1633 Marsens, Switzerland

author email corresponding author email

BMC Psychiatry 2006, 6:48doi:10.1186/1471-244X-6-48

Published:	30 October 2006

Abstract

Background

"Michael's game" is a card game which aims at familiarizing healthcare professionals and patients with cognitive behavioral therapy of psychotic symptoms. This naturalistic study tests the feasibility and the impact of the intervention in various naturalistic settings.

Method

Fifty five patients were recruited in seven centers. They were assessed in pre and post-test with the Peters Delusion Inventory – 21 items (PDI-21).

Results

Forty five patients completed the intervention significantly reducing their conviction and preoccupation scores on the PDI-21.

Conclusion

This pilot study supports the feasibility and effectiveness of "Michael's game" in naturalistic setting. Additional studies could validate the game in a controlled fashion.