Beginner (casual familiarity with topic area e.g., treated one case)

Intermediate

Cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis (CBTp) has emerged as a non-medical intervention for psychosis symptoms. Although anti-psychotic medications have been beneficial for many people, it is estimated that up to 40% of people continue to experience distressing symptoms. Psychosis symptoms (voices and unusual beliefs) are often extremely distressing and disturbing for the person experiencing them and can, in some cases (i.e. command hallucination), be life threatening to self or others. On the basis of the strength of a wide range of efficacy studies, CBTp is the recommended adjunctive therapy for psychosis in both the United Kingdom and the United States. From these efficacy studies, CBT for psychosis has been found to be helpful in reducing psychosis symptoms (positive, negative and general), reducing the incidence of relapse, improving social functioning, increasing insight and understanding of symptoms, and reducing days in hospital. These benefits are achieved through interventions aimed at improving patients’ capacity to cope with symptoms and levels of distress, which in turn is likely to improve patients’ quality of life and their adherence to treatment. The interventions used in CBTp mirror those used in CBT generally but are modified to specifically address the interpretation of the voices and unusual beliefs, rather than cognitions generally. This workshop was first developed for clinicians in Mental Health Services – Metro North Hospital and Health Service (Brisbane, Qld) and is part of an ongoing program to develop clinicians’ skills in working with people with psychosis. In this workshop, the presenter will outline the cognitive view of unusual beliefs and voices, and the CBT approaches in the assessment, formulation and treatment of psychosis symptoms. This will be achieved through the use of didactic learning, case studies, video/audio demonstrations and roles plays.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
• Understand the cognitive view of unusual beliefs and voices
• Be able to assess and formulate a client’s psychosis experiences
• Understand the range of treatments available in CBT for psychosis
• Understand and implement the cognitive behavioural approaches in addressing unusual beliefs and voices.