Characteristics of the included studies
| Study (year) | Place | Mean age, years (I/C) | Inpatient or outpatient | Size (n): (I/C) | Study conditions | Form and dose of intervention* | Personal recovery | Instrument | Follow-up† (month） |
| Barretto et al,33 2009 | Brazil | 39.8/33.2 | Outpatient | 21 12/9 | CBT versus BF | Individual; 20 sessions (first 15 sessions weekly, last 5 sessions every other week); 45 min per session | Quality of life | QoL | 1 |
| Barrowclough et al,34 2006 | UK | 38.83 | Outpatient | 113 57/56 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 18 sessions over 6 months; 2 hours per session | Hopelessness; self-esteem | BHS; RSE | 6 |
| Bechdolf et al,35 2010 | Germany | 32.2/31.4 | Inpatient | 88 40/48 | CBT versus PE | Group; 16 sessions in 8 weeks; 1–1.5 hours per session | Quality of life | MSQoL | 4 |
| Birchwood et al,36 2014 | UK | 37.4 38.8/35.9 | Outpatient | 197 98/99 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 25 sessions over 9 months; unclear | Hopelessness | BHS | 9 |
| Edwards et al,37 2011 | Australia | 22.0/22.5 20.8/20.5 | Outpatient | 48 12/11 11/14 | CBT versus TDZ CBT versus CLZ | Group; twice weekly for 12 weeks, at least 15 sessions (16 sessions; 19 sessions); unclear | Quality of life | QLS | 3 |
| Freeman et al,38 2014 | UK | 41.9/41.5 | Outpatient | 30 15/15 | CBT versus SC | Individual; 6 sessions over 8 weeks; unclear | Self-confidence; well-being; relationships; self-esteem. | BCSS; WEMWBS; SCS; RSQ | 1 |
| Freeman et al,39 2015 | UK | 40.9/42.1 | Outpatient | 150 73/77 | CBT versus SC | Individual; 6 sessions over 8 weeks; 1 hour per session | Well-being | WEMWBS | 4 |
| van der Gaag et al,40 2011 | Netherlands | 36.5/37.4 | Inpatient | 216 110/106 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 26 sessions weekly; unclear | Quality of life | WHO-QoL | – |
| Garety et al,41 1994 | UK | 39.6/37.6 | Inpatient | 20 13/7 | CBT versus WL | Individual; 16 sessions weekly over 6 months; unclear | Self-esteem | RSE | – |
| Gumley et al,42 2006 | UK | 35.8/36.7 | Outpatient | 144 72/72 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 5 sessions between entry and 12 weeks, 2–3 sessions per week delivered at the appearance of early signs of relapse; unclear | Self-esteem | RSE | – |
| Halperin et al,43 2000 | Australia | NR | Inpatient | 16 7/9 | CBT versus WL | Group; 8 sessions over 8 weeks, delivered weekly; 2 hours per session | Quality of life | Q-LES-Q | – |
| Klingberg et al,44 2010 | Germany | 33/33 | Inpatient | 169 84/85 | CBOS versus TAU | Group; 40 weekly sessions weekly, 1 hour per session; 4 fortnightly sessions, 2 hours per session; 6 weekly and 8 fortnightly sessions | Relationships | – | – |
| Kuipers et al,45 1997 | UK | 38.5/41.8 | Outpatient | 60 28/32 | CBT versus TAU | Individual; 18 sessions fortnightly; 1 hour per session | Hopelessness; self-esteem | BHS, SCQ | – |
| Lysaker et al,46 2005 | USA | 46.4/49.7 | Outpatient | 50 25/25 | CBT versus SS | Group; 8 sessions fortnightly; 40 min per session | Hopelessness; self-esteem | BHS, RSE | – |
| Mortan et al,47 2011 | Manisa | 44.0/40.6 | Inpatient | 12 7/5 | CBT versus TAU | Group;10 sessions fortnightly; 1.5 hours per session | Hopelessness; self-esteem | BHS; RSE | 7 |
| Penn et al,48 2009 | USA | 41.7/39.6 | Outpatient | 65 32/33 | CBT versus ST | Group; 12 weekly sessions; 1 hour per session | Self-esteem | RSE | 9 |
| Premkumar et al,49 2011 | UK | 36.1/39.7 | Outpatient | 43 25/18 | CBT versus SC | Group; 19 sessions, weekly/fortnightly; unclear | Self-esteem | RSE | – |
| Shawyer et al,50 2012 | Australia | 40.0/39.6 | Outpatient | 44 21/22 | CBT versus BF | Group;15 sessions, weekly; 50 min per session | Quality of life | Q-LES-Q | 3 |
| Steel et al,51 2016 | UK | 43.8/40.7 | Outpatient | 61 30/31 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 16 sessions over 6 months; unclear | Quality of life | QLS | 6 |
| Wykes et al,52 2005 | UK | 39.7/39.7 | Outpatient | 95 45/40 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 7 sessions over 10 weeks; unclear | Self-esteem | RSE | 4 |
| Tsiachristas et al, 56 2018 | UK | 40.4/42.9 | Outpatient | 43 19/24 | CBT versus SC | Individual; 8 sessions over 12 weeks; unclear | Quality of life | EQ-5D-5L | 3 |
| Wood et al,57 2018 | UK | 32.07/35.58 | Inpatient | 30 15/15 | CBT versus PE | Group; 2 sessions over 2 weeks’ period; 120 min per session | Personal recovery; self-esteem | QPR; SERS | 1 |
| Morrison et al,53 2018a | UK | 23.2/24.4 | Outpatient | 49 24/25 | CBT versus AD | Group; 26 sessions over 6 months; unclear | Personal recovery; quality of life | QPR; WHO-QoL | 12 |
| Morrison et al,54 2018b | UK | 42.8/42.2 | Inpatient | 475 230/245 | CBT versus TAU | Group; 26 sessions over 9 months; 60 min per session | Personal recovery; quality of life | QPR; EQ-5D-5L | 8 |
| Pot-Kolder et al,55 2018 | Netherlands | 36.5/39.5 | Outpatient | 116 58/58 | CBT versus WL | Individual ;16 sessions over 8–12 weeks; 60 min per session | Quality of life | MSAQoL | 3 |
*The information extracted from the primary study were group CBT/individual CBT; number and frequency of CBT sessions; and session length.
†The follow-up time was from the endpoint of CBT treatment.
AD, Antipsychotic drugs; BCSS, Brief Core Schema Scales; BF, befriending control group; BHS, Beck Hopelessness Scale; C, control group; CBOS, cognitive–behavioural oriented services; CBT, cognitive–behavioural therapy; CLZ, clozapine; EQ-5D-5L, EuroQol 5 Dimensions 5 Levels;I, intervention group;MSAQoL, Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life; MSQoL, Modular System for Quality of Life; NR, Not Report; PE, patient psychoeducation;Q-LES-Q, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire; QLS, Quality of Life scale; QPR, Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery; QoL, quality of life scale; RSE, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; RSQ, Robson Self-Concept Questionnaire; SC, standard care;SCQ, Self Concept Questionnaire ; SCS, Social Comparison Scale; SERS, Self-Esteem Rating Scale; SG, support group;SS, standard support; ST, standard treatment; TAU, treatment as usual; TDZ, thioridazine; WEMWBS, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale; WL, waiting list group.