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Purpose: Caregivers of loved ones with psychosis are tasked with navigating a barren care landscape for their loved ones and for themselves. The dearth of resources they face has a negative impact on outcomes for caregivers and their loved ones. The Psychosis REACH program, based on principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis was developed as a community-based resource for families to address this care gap. A role for family peers called the Psychosis REACH Family Ambassadors (pRFAs) was developed to reinforce skill learning for caregivers by utilizing a task-sharing approach. This qualitative study sought to better understand pRFAs' experiences in the inaugural training cohort of this program. Patients and Methods: Eleven pRFAs participated in semi-structured interviews with research coordinators via teleconference. Questions assessed the quality of the training, challenges and facilitators experienced in their role, and ways in which the program could be improved and expanded. Using thematic analysis, members of the research team coded interviews individually, discussed codes until consensus was reached, and iteratively developed themes based on codes that clustered based on meaning or content. Results: This process identified 5 key themes: The development of hope and recovery, the development of solidarity networks, the challenges of navigating boundaries, preferred pedagogical strategies, and the need for more support. Conclusion: Overall, the themes developed from this qualitative analysis demonstrate the value and feasibility of developing a caregiver peer network of pRFAs trained in recovery-oriented care and CBTp-informed skills to support other caregivers. Additionally, they highlight the challenges associated with being in the role of a pRFA and further efforts needed to align training content and learning management systems to the needs of pRFA trainees. These findings highlight the importance of expanding access to family peer training programs for the wellbeing of caregivers and loved ones with psychosis alike.

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BACKGROUND: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is recommended by national treatment guidelines yet remains widely inaccessible in the U.S. A stepped care model, favored and feasible for other scarce interventions, may improve access to CBTp. METHODS: We employed an exploratory sequential mixed method design inclusive of two distinct phases to quantitatively evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of CBTp Stepped Care (CBTp-SC) among practitioners who were trained in low-intensity CBTp (Step 1), Group-Administered CBTp (Step 2), and Formulation-based CBTp (Step 3). In Phase 1, we queried respondents using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure, Intervention Appropriateness Measure, and the Feasibility of Intervention Measure to ascertain perceptions of these leading indicators of implementation success. In Phase 2, we conducted focus groups with CBTp-SC-trained practitioners (n = 10) and administrators (n = 2) from 2 of the 4 Phase 1 study sites to evaluate the theoretical assumptions of stepped care and to better understand key barriers and facilitators. RESULTS: Forty-six practitioners trained in all three levels of CBTp-SC completed the online survey in Phase 1. All participants were employed by a community mental health agency currently sustaining CBTp-SC. Respondents endorsed high levels of acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness for the CBTp-SC model. We found evidence to suggest that licensed practitioners and Step 3 practitioners perceived formulation-based CBTp as more appropriate for their clients. In Phase 2, six themes emerged which affirmed the utility of the model for stakeholders, supported stepped care theoretical assumptions, and revealed key areas for improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Early adopters of CBTp-SC in the U.S. perceive it to be acceptable, feasible, and appropriate in community mental health care settings. Practitioners and administrators identified training and implementation barriers, including the importance of organizational readiness, a CBTp coordinator role, and a desire to adapt the intervention. These early findings will facilitate iterative refinement of the stepped care model for U.S. public behavioral health agencies. Additional research is needed to explore perceptions and clinical outcomes among CBTp service users.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is a psychological therapy recommended for people with psychosis which can start in the acute phase. However, there is not consensus on how CBTp should be delivered in an acute mental health inpatient setting. This study aimed to gain consensus from therapists on how CBTp should be delivered in this context. A 2-stage Delphi study was conducted to establish consensus on what the core components are of inpatient CBTp from the perspective of therapists who are experts in the field. Forty-five therapists took part in 2 rounds of rating statements on the areas of engagement and feedback, assessment and model, formulation, change strategies, homework, and principles and values. A final list of 114 statements were included, which were rated as essential or important by ≥80% of respondents. The delivery of inpatient CBTp is dependent on several adaptations to traditional CBTp including indirect work, being more flexible with session content and delivery, and making adaptations to the restrictive environment. These recommendations could inform training, competency frameworks, and delivery of CBTp in inpatient settings.

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OBJECTIVE: Psychosis Recovery by Enabling Adult Carers at Home (Psychosis REACH) is a training for families of individuals with psychosis that consists of recovery-oriented psychosis psychoeducation, caregiver self-care, and skills training informed by cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp). The authors assessed the effects of a 1-day and a 4-day training on the natural supports (i.e., family and other caregivers) of individuals with psychotic disorders. METHODS: Attendees of a 1-day (N=168) and a 4-day (N=29) Psychosis REACH training were surveyed at three timepoints: pretraining, posttraining, and 4-month follow-up. Longitudinal changes across the full sample were evaluated by paired-sample t tests or a one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Two-way mixed ANOVAs were conducted with training condition, time, and the training condition × time interactions entered into the model. RESULTS: Reductions were noted in self-perceived depression, anxiety, negative aspects of the caregiving experience, and expressed emotion. Trainees also showed more prosocial attitudes toward psychosis immediately and at 4 months after the training. CONCLUSIONS: This evaluation of the launch of Psychosis REACH in the United States suggests that the training can improve the mental health, attitudinal, and relational outcomes of family and caregivers of individuals with psychosis. Given the dearth of CBTp and family interventions for psychosis in mental health services in the United States, short-term, intensive training that supplements clinical services has intuitive appeal as a means of surmounting the barriers that have plagued family interventions.

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The COVID pandemic is now leading to the emergence of a secondary mental health pandemic. Clients with psychosis are at increased risk of poorer medium- and long-term psychosocial and clinical outcomes. In response to the pressing need to flexibly deliver high-quality care to individuals with psychosis, this brief report proposes high yield cognitive behavioral techniques for psychosis (HY-CBt-p) facilitated by task sharing and digital enhancements. HY-CBt-p is delivered over fewer sessions than formulation-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp), can be learned by a range of providers, and includes techniques such as developing a normalizing explanation; techniques to reduce anxiety, depression, and insomnia, which perpetuate psychotic symptoms; self-monitoring; reality testing; and wellness planning. Previous research suggests that effect sizes will be lower than that of 16-session formulation-driven CBTp, but additional research is needed to test the feasibility, acceptability, efficacy, and comparative effectiveness of different forms of remote-delivered CBTp.

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Attitudes of mental health providers are an important consideration in training and delivering evidence-based practices. Treatment approaches for individuals who experience schizophrenia consistently endorse the importance of a recovery perspective. At the same time, a review of the literature suggests that the attitudes of many providers and many policies of community health care settings serving individuals who experience schizophrenia, may not align with the recovery perspective. This brief report provides a summary of the program evaluation outcomes of a wide range of mental health providers who participated in a 2-day intensive training to learn strategies informed by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBT-p). This intensive training emphasizes engagement strategies and person-centered approaches inherent in the recovery perspective. Consistent with the aims of the training, participants' attitudes about working with people who experience psychosis appeared to be positively influenced by training.

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Cognitive behavioral therapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders is an evidence-based treatment that is recommended by United States schizophrenia treatment guidelines. Based on recent estimates, only 0.3% of individuals with a primary psychotic disorder are able to access this treatment in the United States. Stepped care interventions have shown promise as an applied treatment delivery model in other settings and for other psychotherapeutic interventions. The current paper describes how the stepped care model can be applied to CBT for psychosis in the US to increase access to the intervention in community mental health settings by leveraging the multidisciplinary team.

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This exploratory case comparison examines the influence of case management activities on engagement and progress in psychotherapy for clients with schizophrenia. Six clients were recruited to participate in ten sessions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBT-p). Three clients who had received Cognitive Behavioral techniques for psychosis (CBt-p, a low-intensity case management intervention) prior to receiving therapy were selected from referrals. A comparison group of three clients who had received standard case management services was selected from referrals. Cases within and across groups were compared on outcome measures and observations from case review were offered to inform future research. Delivering CBT-p services on a continuum from low- to high-intensity is discussed.

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UNLABELLED: General Purpose: This paper chronologically examines four theoretically divergent psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia, each intended to augment pharmacological treatment. The goal is to familiarize readers with a sample of well-established psychosocial treatments to provide an enhanced perspective on newer and future psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed. METHODOLOGY: Social skills training, cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive remediation, and social cognitive training therapy paradigms were searched and the extant literature is summarized for each, with particular focus on: 1) the rationale for treatment methodology; 2) particular methods of treatment; and, 3) meta-analytic data regarding their efficacy and/or effectiveness. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Each of the four treatment methodologies discussed evinces particular strengths and specific weaknesses for clinical practice, with no clear superior methodology across all clinical populations/situations. Future research must continue to examine social cognitive treatments, as well as the effects of combined psychosocial treatments.

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of meta-cognitive training (MCT) on cognitive biases, symptoms, clinical insight, and general functioning among low-level functioning persons diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia who were attending a daily Community Social Support Group Program; we compared the treatment-as-usual (TAU) condition with the MCT + TAU condition. METHODS: Forty-four patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia were allocated to either the MCT + treatment-as-usual condition or the treatment-as-usual (TAU) condition. Delusion and hallucination severity, cognitive biases, clinical insight, and global functioning were assessed pre- and post-treatment (clinical trial NCT02187692). RESULTS: No significant changes were found in symptom severity as measured with the PSYRATS. Conversely, a medium to large effect size was observed for delusional ideation changes when assessed by the self-report measure (Paranoia Checklist). MCT was found to ameliorate cognitive biases as measured by the self-report scale at large effect size, however, no changes in jumping to conclusions (the Fish Task) and theory of mind deficits ("Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test) were found in the behavioral tasks. MCT increased insight at large effect size. No changes in global functioning were found between the two conditions. LIMITATIONS: Low intensity intervention. No follow-up assessment was provided. Only PSYRATS was assessed blind to patient allocation. CONCLUSIONS: MCT has a beneficial effect on low-functioning chronic schizophrenic patients in ameliorating cognitive biases and increasing clinical insight.

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