From the start of the assessment it is vital to use the person's own terminology for their psychotic experiences. The ultimate goal of the therapist is to try to understand, rather than to try to make the person change their mind by challenging the reality of their voices and delusions.
The role of emotion in psychosis has been neglected, which has led to emotional problems been under-recognized and rendered subordinate to the psychosis symptoms. Few effective therapeutic treatments have been introduced for the management of emotional disorders in psychosis.
The origins of auditory hallucinations may be misattributed cognitions such as inner speech, disconnected memories or traumatic flashbacks. It is important to establish what can be done to help people who are distressed.
Dysfunctional negative beliefs and attitudes may play a role in negative symptoms and formal thought disorder. Cognitive therapy can be used to uncover such beliefs and to determine alternative viewpoints.
Normalising is a main factor predicting a good clinical outcome when it is linked to other formulation techniques such as tracing the antecedents of breakdown, decatastrophising schizophrenia and education about illness.
There is a worldwide movement of early intervention for psychosis. This paper reviews the role of cognitive behaviour therapy for first-episode individuals as part of a comprehensive treatment and also for those at clinical high-risk.
Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way – on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally. A central aim of the present study is to explore links between mindful relating to voices and meaning ascribed them.
Though services aim at offering psychotherapy for psychosis to those in need, multiple barriers exist to its implementation. Issues pertaining to organizational barriers, limited human resources, insufficiently trained mental health staff, and costs of extensive training are described.
The multifamily group approach often provides opportunities for patients to break through problems that are limiting their options in living. Described here are the theoretical background for this treatment model, evidence of its effectiveness and its major components.
This paper presents psychological interventions aimed at helping people with severe and persistent mental illness to find and keep employment. Four methods are described: accurate feedback, cognitive therapy, social skills training and cognitive remediation.
Substance misuse in people with serious mental disorders has wide-ranging negative impact. The multiplicity of problems suggests that this comorbidity is better conceptualized as a type of complex disorder than by "dual diagnosis".
There is growing recognition of the importance of understanding bipolar disorder and its underlying mechanisms in psychological terms. This paper reviews the main advances in psychological understanding towards a more integrated biopsychosocial perspective.
This paper explores key aspects of cognitive models of bipolar disorder, comments on the clinical applicability of cognitive therapy and reviews the outcome studies available.
There is strong evidence that persons with severe psychotic disorders can and do improve their quality of life. Accumulating knowledge shows which factors are important in the process of recovery.
Feelings of fear, depression, helplessness, hopelessness, embarrassment and shame are common prior to relapse in psychosis. This paper describes a psychological treatment approach dedicated to relapse prevention and facilitation of emotional recovery.
