Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Severe Mental Illness

Forget the old canard that psychotherapy is for the worried well. This is the Wright stuff -- a helpful, practical, readable book for clinicians ready to extend CBT to psychiatric patients with severe mental illness. The expert authors illustrate with video clips the CBT techniques for treating patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe and treatment-resistant depression. They explain how to use CBT in conjunction with medication to build an alliance with and help severely ill psychiatric patients address stigma, medication adherence, psychotic symptoms, and relapse prevention. I highly recommend it for therapists working with such patients. John C. Markowitz, M.D., New York State Psychiatric Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University As we know, most patients with psychotic disorders have symptoms and poor social functioning that more or less remain despite medication. More and more evidence-based investigations have demonstrated the efficacy of CBT. Worldwide, important clinical guidelines for psychotic disorders recommend that patients with these disorders receive CBT. Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Severe Mental Illness will promote the utility of CBT for severe mental disorders in clinical settings. This concise, practical book focuses on basic theory and common clinical skills of CBT and specific situations that arise in clinical practice. The rationale and operational procedures of CBT for patients are easy to understand, and are accompanied by extensive illustrations that psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and other interested professionals can use to learn practical skills. Zhanjiang Li, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry & Clinical Psychology, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University Psychosis, bipolar disorder, and severe depression have been on the leading edge of CBT developments in recent years. This practical guide shows clinicians how to use CBT innovations to best advantage. Even therapists who do not specialize in working with severe mental illness will be able to manage many challenging clinical situations better thanks to the methods taught in this book. Christine A. Padesky, Ph.D., Coauthor, Mind Over Mood Forget the old canard that psychotherapy is for the worried well. This is the Wright stuff -- a helpful, practical, readable book for clinicians ready to extend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to psychiatric patients with severe mental illness. The expert authors illustrate with video clips the CBT techniques for treating patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe and treatment-resistant depression. They explain how to use CBT in conjunction with medication to build an alliance with and help severely ill psychiatric patients address stigma, medication adherence, psychotic symptoms, and relapse prevention. I highly recommend it for therapists working with such patients. John C. Markowitz, M.D., New York State Psychiatric Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York

This practical and insightful guide distills into one volume CBT techniques for individual therapy and video demonstrations on DVD that illustrate how these techniques can be used to tackle a wide range of severe clinical problems.

Mastering cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for the common, yet difficult-to-treat aspects of severe mental illness has now been made easier with Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Severe Mental Illness. A proven, effective treatment for patients with severe mental illness, CBT is illuminated in an insightful volume that boasts an abundance of learning exercises, worksheets, and checklists—plus video demonstrations on DVD that offer an inside look at CBT methods in use.

This is the only book to present a comprehensive CBT approach that can be used across the broad range of severe Axis I disorders to prevent relapse, promote treatment adherence, reduce symptoms, and maintain treatment gains. The authors, all internationally recognized experts in using CBT for severe mental illness, provide a host of functional strategies for treating patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and treatment-refractory depression. Their easy-to-read guide covers specific symptoms in detail and promotes practitioners' skill building—including how to design useful interventions, provide effective psychoeducation, and engage patients in effective therapeutic relationships. The eighteen videos show CBT in action, demonstrating such scenarios as tracing origins of paranoia and formulating an antisuicide plan. Readers seeking to learn or improve their use of CBT for severe mental illness will

• Master the key processes of engaging, assessing, normalizing, educating, and formulating
• Learn methods to help patients reduce delusional thinking, cope with hallucinations, and target hopelessness, suicidality, low energy and interest, and poor self-esteem
• Prevent relapse in bipolar disorder through such methods as monitoring symptoms and promoting good sleep
• Address interpersonal problems common in patients with severe mental illness, showing how to build support and cope with dysfunctional or terminated relationships
• Help patients become better organized in their thinking and reduce problems with maintaining concentration
• Apply CBT procedures to improve negative symptoms in schizophrenia, such as attention deficit and anhedonia

The book is an ideal companion to the authors' popular introductory text Learning Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, building on its critically acclaimed methodology to offer guidelines for effective treatment. Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Severe Mental Illness shows how CBT enhances...read more...