Adjunctive psychoeducation during acute inpatient treatment improves executive function and attention in mood disorders: a nonrandomized controlled study

Background Cognitive impairment in mood disorders often persists into remission and adversely affects functioning, highlighting the need for adjunctive psychosocial strategies during acute inpatient care. This study evaluated whether adding a structured, multidisciplinary psychoeducational program to standard treatment improves executive function and attention beyond pharmacotherapy and standard psychotherapy in the acute phase. Methods In an open-label, nonrandomized controlled study at Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital (Feb 2023–Dec 2024), inpatients under 65 years with ICD‑10 major depressive disorder or manic‑depressive illness (baseline HAM‑D ≥ 8; JART ≥ 80) were assigned to intervention (standard care plus six weekly 60‑minute group psychoeducation sessions) or control (standard care) groups. Clinical scales (HAM‑D, SDS, GAF, RAS) and neurocognitive tests (JVLT, LM, DS, VFT, TMT‑A/B, CPT) were administered at baseline and pre‑discharge, and group differences were analyzed using paired/unpaired t‑tests and Wilcoxon tests with significance set at p < 0.10. A total of 27 participants were analyzed (intervention n = 16; control n = 11), with comparable baseline characteristics between groups. Results Both groups showed improvements in depressive symptoms and verbal memory, whereas the intervention group demonstrated greater gains in executive function and attention, including a significantly shorter TMT‑B completion time at post‑intervention compared with controls. Exploratory subgroup analyses indicated lower phonemic verbal fluency at baseline in manic‑depressive illness than in major depressive disorder, with comparable CPT accuracy but faster reaction times in manic‑depressive illness. Conclusions Adjunctive, workbook‑based group psychoeducation may enhance executive function, attention, and working memory during acute inpatient treatment for mood disorders beyond standard care alone. These preliminary findings warrant confirmation in larger, randomized, and longer‑term trials. Trial registration jRCT1030250383; retrospectively registered on 2025‑09‑22.