Cognitive Therapy for Command Hallucinations

Alan Meaden is a consultant clinical psychologist working for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and is the lead for the Trust’s Assertive Outreach and Non-Acute Inpatient Services. He has been involved in research on command hallucinations and the development of theory and practice for their treatment for over a decade. Most recently he has been the supervisor and trainer for therapists on COMMAND: the recent multicentre randomised controlled trial. Nadine Keen is a chartered clinical psychologist on the COMMAND Trial (CBT for command hallucinations) and at the Psychological Interventions Clinic for outpatients with psychosis, South London and Maudsley Trust. Robert Aston is a cognitive behavioural therapist at Birmingham University. Karen Barton is a clinical psychologist at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Sandra Bucci is a lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Manchester.

Introduction. CTCH Level 1 Assessment and Engagement. CTCH Level 2: Promoting Control. CTCH Level 3: Socialising the client to the Cognitive Model and Developing the Formulation. CTCH Level 4: Reframing and Disputing Omnipotence, Omniscience and Compliance Beliefs. CTCH Level 5: Reducing Safety Behaviours and Compliance. CTCH Level 6: Raising the Power of the Individual. CTCH Level 7: Addressing Beliefs about Voice Identity, Meaning and Purpose. CTCH Level 8: Addressing the Psychological Origins of the Voices: Working with Core Schemas. Ending Therapy and Relapse Prevention in CTCH. Special Issues. Conclusions and Implications