Re-examining Maintenance Antipsychotic Treatment in Schizophrenia: Extended Antipsychotic Dosing
The study wishes to examine whether extended antipsychotic treatment, in this case, antipsychotic treatment every other day, is as effective as daily treatment. It is also evaluating whether there may be differences in terms of side effects. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the treatment as usual group (i.e., taking antipsychotic daily) or the extended dosing group (i.e., taking antipsychotic one day on, one day off). That means, like flipping a coin, there is a 50/50 chance that participants will continue on daily dosing of your antipsychotic or have it switched to every other day dosing. This study will last for 1 year. Participants will be evaluated at the beginning and every two weeks during the first 6 months, with visits once every 4 weeks for the final 6 months. In total, participants will make 22 visits over 52 weeks to the investigator's office. The investigators hypothesize that with ED, there will be no change in symptom severity but improvement in the frequency and severity of side effects, wellbeing, and functioning.
• (i) A primary diagnosis of a Schizophrenia Spectrum or Other Psychotic Disorder as defined by the DSM-5 diagnosis and confirmed by the MINI (Version 7.0.2)
• (ii) age 18 or older
• (iii) female participants of childbearing potential must be using a reliable method of contraception and have a negative pregnancy test at the time of enrolment and must, in the investigator's opinion, practice a clinically accepted, reliable method of contraception during this study. Male participants must not father a baby during their time in the study
• (iv) ability to communicate in English
• (v) capacity to provide written, informed consent, as assessed using the MacCAT-CR at time of consent
• (vi) stabilized as outpatients with a single oral AP (risperidone or olanzapine or paliperidone\*) at the same dose for ≥3 months i. On a prescribed risperidone dose of between 1-6mg, or a prescribed olanzapine dose of between 5-20mg, or a prescribed paliperidone 3-12mg
• (vii) evidence of adherence with current AP treatment