Table 2.

Social Skills Training (SST) Subtype Descriptions and Comparison Types

Definition	N st	N p
1. Cognitive-behavioral social skills training (CBSST): CBSST defined interventions which utilized primarily a social-skills training approach similar to generic SST but also integrated cognitive-behavioral techniques such as cognitive restructuring, thought challenging or behavioral experiments. To limit heterogeneity, we attempted to exclude interventions that were primarily structured as formulation-based CBT-based approaches that added aspects of SST because these interventions have less explicit skills training focus.4,26	44,26,43,45	243
2. Generic social skills training: Generic SST refers to approaches that remain close to the original model of SST emerging in the 1980s. Typically this consists of a behaviorally oriented, group intervention based upon social learning traditions in which the therapist(s) engage participants in interpersonal training sessions. The focus is typically upon assertiveness, verbal and non-verbal communication, reduction of social distress, and learning appropriate contextual responses in social situations. This may be achieved via modeling, role-play, rehearsal, group reflection and discussion, or a variety of related methods.1,48	740,42,46,47,52,57,59	287
3. Social-cognitive skills training (SCST): This category refers to a relatively broad range of interventions that focus primarily on refining social cognitive processes such as emotion perception, theory-of-mind abilities. In order to qualify, interventions were required to include a therapist-led, behavioral, or reflective element in order to demonstrate distinction from approaches further on a continuum toward cognitive remediation. SCST may integrate computer programs or videos in order to facilitate improved training of social responses and may also follow a “drill and repeat” structure.49,50	82,3,25,37,38,41,49,60	295
4. UCLA-FAST based: The acronym for this category refers firstly to those interventions explicitly based upon the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) model of skills training, which integrates traditional SST alongside aspects of psycho-education, relapse prevention, and skills in managing daily life tasks such as medication or independent travel. A similar approach is functional adaptive skills training (FAST); therefore, these varieties of SST were combined to form a more practical-skills based category.5,6,51	85,6,24,39,50,52,55,58	612
5. Treatment-as-usual (TAU) comparison: Refers to standard clinical care received by patients. TAU cannot be considered an active control in meta-analysis because intervention is nonstandardized, whereas both intervention and control groups in psychosis are likely to receive some form of TAU (eg, medication).
6. Active controls: Includes bona-fide interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy alongside less recognized but standardized control interventions such as supportive counseling
7. Supportive counseling (SC): Refers to nondirective supportive therapeutic contact which includes key common ingredients of therapy such as empathy and rapport without specific techniques of therapy models.39

Note: N_st, number of studies; N_p, number of participants who received each intervention.