![]() These will be very specific, such as learning one new communication skill for talking with your family or raising one of your school grades from a failing grade to a C.Īs your therapy continues, you will begin to learn new coping skills for dealing with your schizophrenia symptoms. You and the therapist will work together to design goals that you want to achieve during therapy. These may include schizophrenia symptoms like auditory hallucinations, as well as issues in your life like poor communication with your family or failing grades at school. Next, you will collaborate with your therapist to develop a “problem list” of issues in your life that you want to work on. You will be learning a whole new way of looking at your life and finding new ways to act. This is an essential part of CBT because you will be working very closely on issues that may be troubling or even frightening to you. You will begin your CBT course by building trust in your therapist. ![]() loss of interest in people and activities that used to interest you.trouble organizing thoughts and actions.The National Alliance on Mental Illness points out that CBT helps people with schizophrenia by identifying what triggers their psychotic episodes and developing ways to lessen the number and severity of episodes.ĬBT can also be useful for what are called the “negative” symptoms of schizophrenia, such as: The therapy works by helping people identify their delusions, cope with them, and learn acceptable responses. ![]() These are what doctors call the “positive” symptoms of schizophrenia. Another study goes so far as to question whether the benefit of CBT for schizophrenia had been “oversold.” How is CBT used to treat schizophrenia?ĬBT may help reduce hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia in people with schizophrenia. One study reported only a small benefit from CBT by the end of a trial, which did not hold a follow-up. However, some researchers over the past decade point to biases and small sample sizes that flaw some research favoring CBT. Evidence points to CBT’s particular effectiveness in reducing auditory hallucinations, one of the most distressing symptoms for people with schizophrenia. Research indicates that CBT, in combination with medication, can help lessen psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. About 30% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia don’t respond to medication. Research shows CBT to be especially helpful when medication does not significantly improve the symptoms of schizophrenia. It recommends a combination of medication and psychosocial support. Worldwide, however, the World Health Organization does not specifically include CBT in its recommendations for treatment of schizophrenia. Its direction appears in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Similarly, the English government recommends CBT be offered for all patients with schizophrenia or psychosis. The American Psychiatric Association recommends that CBT be used for the treatment of psychosis in schizophrenia, combined with medication and psychosocial support. In the United States, CBT is recognized as the gold standard of psychotherapy for psychosis associated with schizophrenia. ![]() This type of combined treatment is sometimes called coordinated specialty care (CSC).ĭoes CBT work for people with schizophrenia? The most effective schizophrenia treatment combines medication, psychotherapy, and psychosocial support, according to the American Psychiatric Association. The good news is that schizophrenia is treatable. Additionally, you may find it difficult to express emotion or initiate and continue projects. You may find it difficult to organize your thoughts and actions, and say or do things that others find disturbing. You may also lose interest in people and activities that you used to enjoy. For example, you may begin to think people are controlling you or plotting against you. You may experience and believe things that are not real, although they seem very real to you. You may have episodes of psychosis, in which you experience a complete break with reality. You may have auditory and visual hallucinations, meaning you hear and see things that others do not. The condition usually begins during adolescence or early adulthood, and it affects your thinking processes. That may sound like a small number until you realize it amounts to about 3.32 million people. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects about 1% of the American population. ![]() If you’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia, you’re definitely not alone. It may be particularly effective combined with antipsychotic medication and psychosocial support. CBT is the leading psychotherapy treatment for schizophrenia. ![]()
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