P-1174 - Narrative Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Psychosis

Abstract

Several controlled studies indicate that cognitive behavioral interventions, in conjunction with antipsychotic medication, reduce positive psychotic symptoms in acute as well as chronic schizophrenia. However, a recent review found that CBT did not reduce relapse and readmission compared to standard care. Nevertheless there is a need for searching for new ways for the CBT therapy for acute psychotic patient.

A central claim of narrative therapy is to “narrate” our lives. It means that we form narratives of the past and future these narratives do not only describe but also affect our lives. Psychotic patients have problem-saturated stories and the aim of the therapeutic work is both to articulate negative story and its effects upon the person and then to move on to the constructing and preferred narrative with more positive view on the story and consequently on the self, others and the world The CBT approach from Padesky has been adapted in narrative cognitive behavioral therapy to use with most patients suffering from psychosis. Patients are asked to state any negative beliefs they have about themselves, others, and world, and then are asked to describe how they would prefer all these things to be.

In narrative cognitive behavioral approach the therapist searches, yields to surface and stabilize stories that don’t support patients troubleshooting experiencing of the reality, develop alternative stories that lead to new view of things, positive change of themselves - conception and to problem solving that is in contemporary context detected.