Posted by MattDDS on July 12, 2002, at 13:34:08
In reply to Re: Positive experiences with cognitive therapy, posted by melinda on July 11, 2002, at 23:26:19
Melinda,
I have read a little about using CBT for schizophrenia. This application of CBT
is less researched than in mood disorders like depression and anxiety. However, I was
just in the local university library and ran across a book by Adrian Wells (I can't
remember the name of the book, sorry!) which talked about CBT treatment of schizophrenia
and how it is evolving.I think there are exciting new developments as far as CBT applications. From what I
understand, CBT tries to help reduce dysfunctional beliefs about the auditory
hallucinations (hearing voices) in schizophrenia. Like Mark said, the goal here is to
try to reduce the dysfunctional beliefs associated with the delusions (e.g. that they
provide helpful or reliable information or that they are harmful). In essence, you can
treat these delusions like a depressive would treat negative thoughts.From my understanding, with the help of the newer neuroleptic medications along with
techniques in CBT (or other psychotherapy for that matter), the prognosis for recovery
from schizophrenia can be quite good!Good luck and do keep us posted on your progress!
Take care,
Matt
poster:MattDDS
thread:538
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/596.html