Psychosis.

Abstract

I n medical school, one of us (NS) was advised by attending psychiatrists to ignore the content of voices and delusions, except to classify the latter as paranoid, grandiose, and so on. Beyond that, it was considered unnecessary to delve into what voices said or what material was contained in the delusions. To do so was a waste of time, as once the presence of hallucinations and/or delusions was established, it was only necessary to determine the presence of other symptoms that would clarify which diagnosis-containing psychosis as a symptom-was correct and, from there, which medications to order. It did not take this author long to question this approach. It was difficult to believe that someone reporting voices telling him to commit suicide was not also experiencing that same urge to do so. Likewise, it seemed that someone with a delusion of being married and having children and a career would also have those same desires. 1 A number of years from then, in the mid-1990s, a book called Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Schizophrenia was published (Kingdon, & Turkington, 1994). British authors David Kingdon and Douglas Turkington (cf., Kingdon & Turkington, 2002) described how the content of voices and delusions are important and are used to facilitate treatment efforts. Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp) helps clients examine the beliefs associated with their voices and delusions by testing their veracity. Other British clinical research groups and clinicians (