Pathways to psychological treatments for psychosis.

Abstract: Psychological treatment for psychosis used to be thought of as likely to make things worse. However, within the last 15 years, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and family intervention have both been found efficacious for psychosis. The evidence is best for longer treatment (more than 6 months) for persistent symptoms and this is now recommended by the NICE guidelines for schizophrenia (2003). Psychological research on the continuum from normality to the experience of psychosis, single symptom research, and the existence of high levels of clinical comorbidities, such as anxiety and depression, have all helped CBT for psychosis to develop. Difficulties that remain include access to such treatments, and the fact that we still need to test out our hypotheses of how and why such treatments might contribute to change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]