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Alleviating Distress Associated With Psychotic-Type Disorders With a 10-Session, Manualised Combination of CBT and ACT in New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Ruth Gillingham  and
Patrick L. Dulin
Ruth Gillingham*
Affiliation:
Massey University, New Zealand
Patrick L. Dulin
Affiliation:
Massey University, New Zealand
*
School of Psychology, Massey University, C/- 115 Takahiwai Road, RD1, Ruakaka 0250, New Zealand. E-mail: r.gillingham@xtra.co.nz
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Abstract

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a treatment that combined techniques from cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to alleviate the psychological distress and symptom severity resultant from psychotic-type disorders. This treatment (EVoLVE Therapy; an acronym for Exposing Virtues of Living Valued Existences) was designed to primarily target the psychological distress associated with psychosis and secondarily to facilitate improvement in psychotic-type symptoms. Participants in this study were selected based on previous diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and other psychiatric disorders with psychotic features. Seven participants, who each had been long-term consumers of mental health services, completed 10 weeks of therapy. Postgraduate clinical psychology students, in training to become professional psychologists, delivered supervised therapy using a structured treatment manual written by the researchers. Pretreatment, posttreatment and 5-week follow-up data were collected, using a variety of measures to assess the effectiveness of treatment. Results were very encouraging, with some clients making considerable improvements at the end of therapy and at the 5-week follow-up assessment. All 7 participants showed a decrease in symptom severity after treatment. In addition, 6 out of the 7 participants reported an improved quality of life and marked improvements in both positive and negative affect were also evident.

Type
Articles
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , January 2005 , pp. 103 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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