CBT

• CBT is a method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques
• CBT takes place over a period of 5 to 20 sessions, one hour in length, in groups or on an individual basis
• The delivery of techniques will help individuals to:

  • Identify intrusive/irrational thoughts
  • Make sense of how their delusions and hallucinations impact their feelings and behaviours
• Individuals can take steps to de-construct their thought processes, adjust their thinking, and thereby ensure their cognitions are no longer as distorted
• CBT will not eliminate symptoms but make them much

  more manageable and easier to cope with
• CBT techniques consists of...

  1. cognitive restructuring
  2. normalisation
  3. reality testing
• Reality Testing

  This approach takes the form of a discussion regarding

  how likely the patient's beliefs are to be true, and a

  consideration of other less threatening possibilities
• Normalisation

  The process of helping clients understand that their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are common and shared by many people
• Normalisation aims to reduce feelings of shame, isolation, and distress by framing these experiences as part of the human condition rather than as signs of personal inadequacy or abnormality
• Normalisation will motivate someone to engage in exposure techniques and cognitive restructuring without feeling ashamed or isolated
• Cognitive Restructuring

  A therapeutic technique that involves identifying and

  challenging distorted or unhelpful thoughts related to the

  individual’s symptoms and experiences
• Cognitive restructuring helps clients reframe their thinking, replacing irrational beliefs with more accurate and adaptive thoughts
• Cognitive restructuring helps reduce fear and empowers the client to cope better with their symptoms which can lead to improved functioning, even if the symptoms persist