Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in Psychosis; Relevance to Mental Health Nurses

The background to this research report is my personal and professional belief that more can be done in caring for people who experience psychosis. Psychosis can be a life-threatening illness; about one in ten young men with psychosis will take their own lives. It ravages individuals and robs families and societies of what may have been. Over the last 25 years there has been great progress in the treatment and nursing approach to psychosis, however much of this progress has been predicated on a biological explanation of psychosis. The late 1990s have seen increasing interest in psychological approaches in the treatment of psychosis; not withstanding that this treatment does not work for all people. This has caused me to examine critically what else might work and why. My intuition is, that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may offer a way forward. It seems that as I have come to a greater understanding of CBT, its theory and its process, it has become increasingly clear that much of what mental health nurses do is, in fact, CBT. The first aim of this research report is to understand a little about CBT, through exploration of the origins of CBT and examining the theoretical basis and reviewing the evidence that may support its use The second aim is to explore the evidence around mental health nurses' training and use of CBT, by critically examining some of the major UK and Australian reports. I believe that for New Zealand mental health nurses, CBT will be the next major mental health movement in which they are involved. I consider CBT is theoretically and pragmatically compatible with contemporary nursing practice. It seems on the evidence I have found, that potentially, this approach offers the way forward for nurses and a way back for clients.