Preferences for psychological therapy in psychosis: trial participation, mode of treatment, and willingness to be randomised.

BACKGROUND: Psychological therapies for psychosis are well evidenced; however, service user preferences for psychological treatment and trial participation have been little researched. AIMS: To investigate preferences for psychological treatments for psychosis and trial participation decisions within a sample of people with experience of psychosis. METHOD: Hypothetical preferences were assessed in 90 individuals diagnosed with non-affective psychosis: (a) willingness/unwillingness to participate in a psychological therapy trial; (b) willingness/unwillingness to be randomised to treatment condition; (c) preference for mode of therapy; (d) reasons for preferences; (e) socio-demographic and clinical characteristics associated with preferences. RESULTS: Most participants reported willingness to participate in a therapy trial and preferred not to be randomly allocated. Reasons for preferences were diverse, and preferences were not associated with socio-demographic or clinical variables. CONCLUSIONS: The need for treatment choice in services for psychosis and further research in this area has been highlighted.

Exploring service users' perceptions of cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis: a user led study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study explored individuals' subjective experiences of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) with the aim of identifying coherent themes consistent across individual accounts and any potential barriers to CBTp effectiveness. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine individuals with experience of CBTp. A qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyze the data collected to identify common themes. RESULTS: Five super-ordinate themes emerged from our analyses: CBT as a process of person-centred engagement; CBT as an active process of structured learning; CBT helping to improve personal understanding; CBT is hard work; Recovery and outcomes of CBT for psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: The theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.