What’s going on inside the ‘black box’? There’s something wrong with me psychlotron.org.uk People are laughing on the bus What’s going on inside the ‘black box’? People are trying to sabotage my career psychlotron.org.uk My papers are not where I left them What’s going on inside the ‘black box’? My family is plotting against me psychlotron.org.uk I can’t hear what people are saying Cognitive approach Schizophrenia symptoms are the result of faulty information processing Misattributed speech & behaviour Faulty self-monitoring Deficits in STM & semantic memory psychlotron.org.uk Cognitive Approach Perception Inference Search for new info Source: Bentall (1990) Belief psychlotron.org.uk Events in the world Cognitive approach Treatment involves getting the patient to modify their beliefs about their experiences psychlotron.org.uk Cognitive therapies CBT strategies to challenge & help modify delusory beliefs Identify delusions Challenge evidence on which delusions are based Design ‘experiments’ to test reality of this evidence Chadwick & Lowe (1993) – significant reductions in delusions in 10 out of 12 patients psychlotron.org.uk Cognitive therapies Normalising strategies where patient is taught to understand the nature of schiz. symptoms Challenge ‘catastrophising’ beliefs about schizophrenia Help patient feel that symptoms are understandable and ‘normal’ Helps 70% of patients although other 30% may deteriorate (Kingdon & Turkington, 1996) psychlotron.org.uk