Question: In adults of a working age with symptoms of psychosis, how effective is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) when compared to any other treatment in achieving improved patient outcomes (recovery in terms of improved quality of life; employment prospects; relapse frequency, duration and intensity; admission to hospital; social inclusion; hope; acceptance of mental health condition)?

Answer:

No definite clinical recommendations were made in the identified literature, although many of the authors made conclusions regarding the effectiveness of CBT for improving various patient outcomes. The need for trials that evaluate the effects of CBT over different lengths of time was commonly stated.

One SR made a number of suggestions for a future research CBT research programme (Wykes et al. 2008). They stated that it should include: methodologically rigorous efficacy trials of well defined treatment programs; measures of treatment process which allow an estimate of the dose of treatment that is more sophisticated than ''number of sessions''; outcome measures that are acceptable not only to the clinical and academic community but also to the patients themselves; studies of effectiveness with different models, staff training methods, and background service provision; long-term follow-up studies of the durability of treatment effects.