AO1

• What is the basic assumption of CBTP

  -distorted beliefs influence feelings and hallucinations
• Patients normally have

  -around sixteen hour sessions where they are encouraged to trace symptoms back to their origins to see how they developed
• the therapist might give the client

  -homework assignments to do following the session and in the next session the patient and therapist discuss how the homework went and how to move forwards.
• Outline stage 1: Assessment

  -The patient expresses his/her thoughts about their experiences to the therapist. Realistic goals are discussed using the patient’s current distress as a motivation for change.

  -An air of trust is developed.
• Outline stage 2: Engagement

  -The therapist emphasises with the patient’s perspective and their feelings of distress and stress so that together they can explore the patient’s explanations for their distress.
• Outline stage 3: ABC Model

  -The patient gives their explanation of the activating events (A) that appear to be the cause of emotional and behavioural (B) consequences (C).

  -The patient’s own beliefs which are usually the case of the consequence can then be rationalised, disputed and changed
• Outline stage 4: Normalisation

  -The therapist provides the information that many people have unusual experiences such as delusions and hallucinations under many different circumstances to reduce anxiety and the patient’s sense of isolation.

  -By placing experiences on a continuum with normal experiences the patient feels less alienated and stigmatised, the possibility of recovery then seems more likely to the patient.
• Outline stage 5: Critical collaborative analysis

  -The therapists question the patient (gently) to help the patient understand illogical delusions and conclusions, for example ‘if the voices are real, why can’t anyone else hear them?’ If there is an air of trust already established, then the patient would not be distressed by this.
• Outline stage 6 developing alternative explanations

  -The patient develops their own alternatives for previously unhealthy assumptions and beliefs. The healthier explanations may be weak due to the previous dysfunctional patterns of behaviour but over time they strengthen. The patient and the therapist construct new ideas to replace the old ones.