Can psychosocial interventions help with psychosis?

December 5, 2022

Psychosocial interventions for psychosis may be helpful when used along with antipsychotic medications. For example, the programs Cognitive Remediation Therapy and Computer-Assisted Cognitive Remediation both improved selected cognitive skills, and the Think Program reduced emergency room visits for mental health concerns. But additional studies are still needed to expand treatment options. For example, a form of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) shows promise with first-episode psychosis, according to a recent pilot study in youth aged 14 to 18 years. This form of CBT involved setting individual goals and helping young people achieve them. Although too few youth were recruited to definitively assess the impact, initial findings suggested that CBT may reduce psychotic symptoms. Further evaluation of CBT is therefore warranted. Expanding the psychosocial treatment options for youth with psychosis is particularly important given the severe side effects of antipsychotic medications. For more information, see Vol. 14, No. 4  of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.