Adapting psychotherapy to psychosis

Abstract

The tradition in many schools of psychotherapy has been the exclusion of people experiencing psychosis or the suspension of psychotherapy when psychosis emerges. In this paper it is argued that those who experience psychosis have a need for psychotherapeutic assistance. Health professionals involved in the care of people with psychosis ought to interact in a psychotherapeutic manner and develop psychotherapeutic skills. The purposes and some selected techniques of psychotherapy along the supportive-exploratory continuum are reviewed and pragmatic considerations when selecting psychotherapeutic interventions are discussed.

Keywords:

• psychotherapy
• psychosis
• schizophrenia
• interventions
• cognitive behavioural therapy
• narrative therapy
• family therapy