Objective: To investigate the efficacy of group art therapy on clinical symptoms and empathy ability in patients with first-episodic remission schizophrenia.

Methods: 60 patients with first-episode remission schizophrenia were included and randomly divided into study group and control group, with 30 patients in each group. The control group was given routine rehabilitation treatment on the basis of drug treatment, while the research group was intervened by group art therapy in addition to the drug and routine rehabilitation treatment for 15 weeks. Before and after the intervention, both groups completed the assessment of Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C (IRI-C), and Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP).

Results: The changes in the scores of the negative symptom factor before and after the intervention in the research group was statistically significant compared with those in the control group (P < 0.001). After the intervention, the changes were superior to those in the control group in terms of the IRI-C total score, perspective taking (PT), imagination (FS), empathic concern (EC), personal distress (PD), and the total score of PSP (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: As a rehabilitation training method, group art therapy can effectively improve the empathy ability of patients with first-episode schizophrenia in remission, reduce clinical symptoms, and improve social function.