Magezi opens review center in CALABARZON

Good news for Psychometrician reviewers in the CALABARZON areas! You do not have to leave the confines of your comfort zones and come all the way to Manila, a review center is just a stone throw away from your territory,  thanks to Magezi....

Well I am not advertising them but I would like to feature them here in our blog because of their
pioneering initiative of starting a review center in the CALABARZON areas. As a disclaimer
this is not a paid ad, merely as a purpose of this blog, fulfilling its obligation to serve as a
resource for the upcoming Psychometrician Licensure Exam so we are introducing them here.

To know more about them, below are details emailed to us at TR Reviewer:

 MAGEZI is Brilliance!

ABOUT US

Magezi Training Events and Educational Services is happy to offer its expertise in Psychologist and Psychometrician Board Reviews. We are offering comprehensive reviews in Batangas City, with a schedule (Sundays ONLY, 8:00am-5:00pm) flexible enough to fit in the schedule of young professionals and employed reviewees.

Our goal is to partner with Institutions in helping our clients not just pass but TOP the Psychologist and Psychometrician Board Examinations. MAGEZI assures you that after the review sessions, they are more than prepared for the first ever Board Examinations.

REVIEW SESSIONS

Our review sessions are meticulously planned by our coaches who are from the top Universities in Manila and CALABARZON who all have the necessary degrees and are renowned in the field of Psychology. MAGEZI has partnered up with lecturers and coaches from the University of Santo Tomas, The National Teachers College, Far Eastern University, Centro Escolar University, De La Salle Dasmariñas, and Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas.

Effectively designed review sessions will comprise of orientation and diagnostic exams, lectures and coaching, and pre-board and final coaching that will run from June 1 to October 19.

PAYMENT TERMS

We offer the review at a much lower price of P8000/head for the Psychometrician Board Review and P9000/head for the Psychologist Review.

With this, MAGEZI is ready to accept enrollees for the 2014 Comprehensive Review starting March 20 until May 15, 2014. Reservation is at P3000 only.


DISCOUNTS AND PROMOS

To know more about our exciting offers and available promos you may contact us at 09258466897 or e-mail at us magezitrainings@yahoo.com.ph.

We hope that you will consider our offer and avail of our brilliant services. LET US MAKE HISTORY IN THE FIELD OF PHILIPPINE PSYCHOLOGY.


Coaches/Lecturers

Dr. Lida C. Landicho - UST, LPU

Dr. Teresa Q. Amarille - Emilio Aguinaldo College

Prof. Roldan C. Ragot - Independent Management Consultant on Training, Coaching, People & Organizational Development

Prof. Miriam Grace Aquino-Malabanan - DLSU, LPU

Prof. Gem B. Escoza - Adventist Psychological and Professional Services


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MageziTrainingEventsAndEducationalServices
Website: magezi.weebly.com
Contact No.: 09258466897
Email: magezitrainings@yahoo.com.ph


Check other review centers here - http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/p/pyschology-review-centers.html





Logo and Photo credit to Magezi.

Checklist of Requirements for Psychometrician Licensure Exam

Updated - September 2, 2014

FAQ - Which document should have a documentary stamp? How many documentary stamps are needed? Where to get and how much?

Answer: Documentary stamp should be affixed to your 3 Certificates of Good Moral Character. Original copies will be submitted. But in case your are submitting a certified true copy of your Certificate of Good Moral Character (in the case of a half page school issued certificate - not printed on a bond paper so it can't contain the notary), it will serve as as original copy and can be submitted to PRC - still the original (ex. of the 1/2 page school certificate) should be shown and submitted to PRC together with the other certificates - notarized and with documentary stamp.

You will need 4 documentary stamps - 3 for the certificate and 1 for the application form. Depending on the place where you purchase the documentary stamp, it could be in the office of barangay captain, post office, or PRC, prices varies (it costs 35 pesos from vendors at PRC).



Updated - August 19, 2014

FAQ - Is Barangay Clearance same with the Certificate of Good Moral character?

Answer - Per PRC, for as long as the word "of good moral character" appears in the Barangay Clearance then the clearance can serve as an equivalent of the Certificate of Good Moral Character from the Barangay.

Comment from our FB

Chin Bona Hi Sir! Just want to share my experience since I went to PRC yesterday. The PRC didn't accept my Good Moral Character from my School since there was no good moral key words stated on the content. The school has a different format and content which states that I was not involved in any disciplinary act but the PRC didn't accept it. I don't know what to do because when I asked the Registrar of my school, they said that they won't change the content of the good moral that has given to me since they have their own format and that it can't be changed.

Source - https://www.facebook.com/psychometricianreviewer/posts/257692744441212?comment_id=257834137760406&offset=0&total_comments=4

So always try to follow to the letters those that are being required by PRC otherwise you will keep going back complying their requirements.



Updated - August 2, 2014

Re certificates if you are not yet employed then get fromschool, church and your barangay (one certificate each).

With the PRC email that was sent to all those who already got their NOA, and with calls and email received from PRC that clarified the matter please be guided of this new and updated set of requirements, especially for the benefit of those who are yet to submit their application:

1) On the Certificates of Good Moral Character:

a) 3 Certificates each from school, work, barangay or church, most of the time these certificates contain a dry seal or printed in a special paper or letterhead of issuing institutions. (Re Barangay Clearance instead of Certificate of Good Moral Character - please check it with PRC if they accept Barangay Clearance in lieu of the Certificate of Good  Moral Character.)

b) Certificates should be notarized by a notary public (dry seal does not mean it is notarized already).

c) Each of the notarized good moral certificates should contain each a documentary stamp. You can purchase documentary stamp at PRC (more expensive) other alternative sources - from your city/municipal hall, barangay hall, or the post office.

2) On the Certificate of Authentication and Validation
Check discussion and exchange here - https://www.facebook.com/psychometricianreviewer/posts/249070291970124

The email of PRC was mass distributed even tho those whose TOR already contained a SO (special order). But it seems individually they have replied to calls and email verifying on their email that CAV only apply  to those TOR without SO. Check with your school and get the endorsement for CHED application of CAV.  CHED is the only government agency that releases SO. Some schools with their liaison officers are in charge of facilitating the application of the CAV of their students and alumni, for a fee. It take 3 weeks for the CAV to obtain. So for those whose TOR does not contain a SO make sure to apply it from your school or get endorsement for you to apply to CHED. Remember deadline for the application for the licensure Exam is on October 8, 2014.


Please read these links as well for your guidance:

1) Sample of Good Moral Character:
http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/07/sample-of-certificates-of-good-moral.html

2) Email from PRC regarding Submission of Certificate of Authentication and Validation (CAV)
http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/07/email-from-prc-regarding-submission-of.html

3) Frequently Asked Question: 3 Certificates of Good Moral Character
http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/07/frequently-asked-question-good-moral.html

Updated - July 5, 2014 (Refer to link below for update).

Although the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Psychology Board has not released the guidelines and requirements for the application for Psychometrician Licensure Exam, per IRR of the law provides for the following:

SEC.13­A. Documentary Requirements to the Licensure Examination of Psychometricians. All applications shall be filled in the Application Division of the Commission and the qualified examinees shall be issued with notices of admission to take such examination upon submission of the following documents.

(a) Original and photocopy of Certificate of Live Birth in NSO security paper in case of

Filipino citizen; or in case of a foreign citizen, a copy of the law of the state or country which
permits Filipino Psychometrician to practice on the same basis as its subject or citizens, duly
authenticated by the Philippine embassy or consulate therein;

(b) Marriage Contract in NSO security paper for married female applicants;

(c) Original and photocopy of transcript of records (with scanned picture) indicating the

Special Order (S.O.) number; and where school is exempted from the issuance of an SO., a
Certificate of Authentication and Validation (CAV) from the CHED;

(d) Original and photocopy of valid NBI Clearance;

(e) Three (3) certificates of good moral Character, preferably from school, employer,

Church, barangay captain, duly sighed by the issuing authority and duly notarized under oath;

(f) Two (2) colored passport size pictures with white background and complete name tag;

and

(g) Community Tax Certificate.

To know more about the law and IRR check this link  - http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/p/ra-10029-or-philippine-psychology-act.html

So while waiting for the final guidelines from the PRC it would be good to prepare the above documentary requirements just to be ready.

Also the online application is now live at the PRC website. We have yet to check the process at PRC and will keep you posted.

You might want to check the step-by-step online application here - http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/02/step-by-step-tutorial-for-prc-online.html

Refer to this post for update - http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/07/infographics-step-by-step-application.html

Related link - http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/08/madalas-na-tanong-faq-2014.html

Can an AB-Psychology graduate take the psychometrician board exam?

Comments to one of our blog posts - http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/p/chedcourse-specification.html


sonny rivera April 12, 2014 at 11:13 AM

do you have to be a bs-psychology graduate to take the Psychometrician board exam? because I'm an ab-psychology graduate but I have taken all the 4 main subjects covered by the board, i'm feeling vulnerable right now because they might not let me take the exam because i'm an ab graduate and not a bs.

I've read in the IRR of RA10029 that the people who can take the licensure exam for psychometricians are people who have a bachelor's degree in psychology? It does not say that one should be a BS Psychology graduate and not an AB-psychology graduate, am I correct? because I'm an AB Psychology graduate and I believe I have the right to take the exam.

so question is can an AB-Psychology graduate take the Psychometrician board exam??


DEFINITELY  YES!!


Take a look at these screen captures from the online application of PRC for the Psychometrician Licensure Exam. There are several choices of courses that you can choose from and one them is AB in Psychology or Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

I hope this clarifies your concern.

Just submitted my online application for the Psychometrician Licensure Exam

Below is the screen capture/photo of my online application form for the Psychometrician Licensure Exam set for October 28 and 29. The online application is now live - ONLINE!

Be sure to have your cedula - community tax certificate before applying and filling up the online form.

 

 

You may also want to check link below for the step-by-step online application.
http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/2014/02/step-by-step-tutorial-for-prc-online.html

Next step will be - submitting the requirements at the PRC. But I need to satisfy first the requirements below.

 

From the IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS OF RA 10029

http://psychometricpinas.blogspot.com/p/ra-10029-or-philippine-psychology-act.html

SEC.13. Qualifications of Applicants to the Licensure Examination of
Psychometricians. Any  person may apply to take the examinations as a psychometrician after
furnishing evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicant:

 

(a) Is a Filipino citizen, or a permanent resident or a citizen ot a foreign state/country which
extends reciprocity to the Philippines relative to the practice of the profession;

(b) Holds al least a bachelors degree in psychology conferred by a university, college or
school in the Philippines or abroad recognized/ accredited by the CHED and has obtained
sufficient credits for the subjects covered in the examination,

(c) Is of good moral character; and

(d) Has not been convicted by final judgment of an offense involving moral turpitude.

 

SEC.13­A. Documentary Requirements to the Licensure Examination of Psychometricians. All applications shall be filled in the Application Division of the Commission and the qualified examinees shall be issued with notices of admission to take such examination upon submission of the following documents.

 

(a) Original and photocopy of Certificate of Live Birth in NSO security paper in case of
Filipino citizen; or in case of a foreign citizen, a copy of the law of the state or country which
permits Filipino Psychometrician to practice on the same basis as its subject or citizens, duly
authenticated by the Philippine embassy or consulate therein;

(b) Marriage Contract in NSO security paper for married female applicants;

(c) Original and photocopy of transcript of records (with scanned picture) indicating the
Special Order (S.O.) number; and Where School is exempted from the issuance of an SO., a
Certificate of Authentication and Validation (CAV) from the CHED;

(d) Original and photocopy of valid NBI Clearance;

(e) Three (3) certificates of good moral Character, preferably from school, employer,
Church, barangay captain, duly sighed by the issuing authority and duly notarized under oath;

(f) Two (2) colored passport size pictures with white background and complete name tag;
and

(g) Community Tax Certificate.



DSM-5 Update For Counselors & Students

 From the blog In thought of Aaron Norton
http://www.aaronlmhc.blogspot.com/2013/06/reflections-on-dsm-5-strengths-and.html

I also like that the classification system is less dichotomous.  Several disorders have been merged together and conceptualized as varying points on a spectrum.  The truth is that two people with the same diagnosis can experience dramatically different levels of severity and functioning.  

Finally, the DSM-5 is overall a somewhat more simplified and streamlined product than the DSM-IVTR.  Its shorter in length with several examples of less convoluted wording.  Some old diagnostic labels that have become pejorative labels have been renamed (e.g. "Mental Retardation" became "Intellectual Disability"). 

All in all, I think the DSM-5 is an improved product in comparison to the DSM-IVTR. Its imperfect and flawed, like any organizational system, but it's probably the best that we have for now.  We'll see what changes with future revisions. 

Aaron Norton, LMHC, a psychotherapist and Adjunct Instructor at the University of South Florida's Dept. of Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling, and Henry Tenenbaum, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, walk students and alumni of three graduate degree programs through changes in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

DSM-5 Update For Counselors & Students, Part 1 
Sourrce link - http://youtu.be/cWFRIAy2FGc


DSM-5 Update For Counselors & Students, Part 2 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QksM3beRUo8


DSM-5 Update for Counselors & Students, Part 3 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1KXYlDUSpU


The Embedded PDF below source link is - http://www.anorton.com/DSM5ResourcePage.en.html




Another nice presentation here -
http://www.anorton.com/userfiles/688392/file/DSM5ASAM(1).pdf   (it is a big file at 26 MB)

Timeline: Treatments for Mental Illness

This is an interesting timeline although it is not updated that it ended in 1992. So many things had already happened since then and I hope to provide update - so I need to do some research 1993 onwards.  

It can be observed that the bias of this timeline is on institutionalization and psychopharmacology or use of drugs and not psychotherapy.


Source link - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/index.html

400 B.C.	The Greek physician Hippocrates treats mental disorders as diseases to be understood in terms of disturbed physiology, rather than reflections of the displeasure of the gods or evidence of demonic possession, as they were often treated in Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman writings. Later, Greek medical writers set out treatments for mentally ill people that include quiet, occupation, and the use of drugs such as the purgative hellebore. Family members care for most people with mental illness in ancient times.
Middle Ages	In general, medieval Europeans allow the mentally ill their freedom -- granted they are not dangerous. However, less enlightened treatment of people with mental disorders is also prevalent, with those people often labeled as witches and assumed to be inhabited by demons. Some religious orders, which care for the sick in general, also care for the mentally ill. Muslim Arabs, who establish asylums as early as the 8th century, carry on the quasi-scientific approach of the Greeks.
1407	The first European establishment specifically for people with mental illness is probably established in Valencia, Spain, in 1407.
1600s	Europeans increasingly begin to isolate mentally ill people, often housing them with handicapped people, vagrants, and delinquents. Those considered insane are increasingly treated inhumanely, often chained to walls and kept in dungeons.
Late 1700s	Concern about the treatment of mentally ill people grows to the point that occasional reforms are instituted. After the French Revolution, French physician Phillippe Pinel takes over the Bicêtre insane asylum and forbids the use of chains and shackles. He removes patients from dungeons, provides them with sunny rooms, and also allows them to exercise on the grounds. Yet in other places, mistreatment persists.
1840s	U.S. reformer Dorothea Dix observes that mentally ill people in Massachusetts, both men and women and all ages, are incarcerated with criminals and left unclothed and in darkness and without heat or bathrooms. Many are chained and beaten. Over the next 40 years, Dix will lobby to establish 32 state hospitals for the mentally ill. On a tour of Europe in 1854-56, she convinces Pope Pius IX to examine how cruelly the mentally ill are treated.
1883	Mental illness is studied more scientifically as German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin distinguishes mental disorders. Though subsequent research will disprove some of his findings, his fundamental distinction between manic-depressive psychosis and schizophrenia holds to this day.
Late 1800s	The expectation in the United States that hospitals for the mentally ill and humane treatment will cure the sick does not prove true. State mental hospitals become over-crowded and custodial care supersedes humane treatment. New York World reporter Nellie Bly poses as a mentally ill person to become an inmate at an asylum. Her reports from inside result in more funding to improve conditions.
Early 1900s	The primary treatments of neurotic mental disorders, and sometimes psychosis, are psychoanalytical therapies ("talking cures") developed by Sigmund Freud and others, such as Carl Jung. Society still treats those with psychosis, including schizophrenia, with custodial care.
1908	Clifford Beers publishes his autobiography, A Mind That Found Itself, detailing his degrading, dehumanizing experience in a Connecticut mental institution and calling for the reform of mental health care in America. Within a year, he will spearhead the founding of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, an education and advocacy group. This organization will evolve into the National Mental Health Association, the nation's largest umbrella organization for aspects of mental health and mental illness.
1930s	Drugs, electro-convulsive therapy, and surgery are used to treat people with schizophrenia and others with persistent mental illnesses. Some are infected with malaria; others are treated with repeated insulin-induced comas. Others have parts of their brain removed surgically, an operation called a lobotomy, which is performed widely over the next two decades to treat schizophrenia, intractable depression, severe anxiety, and obsessions.
1935	Schizophrenia is treated by inducing convulsions, first induced by the injection of camphor, a technique developed by psychiatrist Ladislaus Joseph von Meduna in Budapest. In 1938 doctors run electric current through the brain -- the beginning of electro-shock therapy -- to induce the convulsions, but the process proves more successful in treating depression than schizophrenia.
1946	July 3: President Harry Truman signs the National Mental Health Act, calling for a National Institute of Mental Health to conduct research into mind, brain, and behavior and thereby reduce mental illness. As a result of this law, NIMH will be formally established on April 15, 1949.
1949	Australian psychiatrist J. F. J. Cade introduces the use of lithium to treat psychosis. Prior to this, drugs such as bromides and barbiturates had been used to quiet or sedate patients, but they were ineffective in treating the basic symptoms of those suffering from psychosis. Lithium will gain wide use in the mid-1960s to treat those with manic depression, now known as bipolar disorder. 1950s A series of successful anti-psychotic drugs are introduced that do not cure psychosis but control its symptoms. The first of the anti-psychotics, the major class of drug used to treat psychosis, is discovered in France in 1952 and is named chlorpromazine (Thorazine). Studies show that 70 percent of patients with schizophrenia clearly improve on anti-psychotic drugs. Mid-1950s The numbers of hospitalized mentally ill people in Europe and America peaks. In England and Wales, there were 7,000 patients in 1850, 120,000 in 1930, and nearly 150,000 in 1954. In the United States, the number peaks at 560,000 in 1955. A new type of therapy, called behavior therapy, is developed, which holds that people with phobias can be trained to overcome them. 1961 Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz's book, The Myth of Mental Illness, argues that there is no such disease as schizophrenia. Sociologist Erving Goffman's book, Asylums, also comes out. Another critic of the mental health establishment's approach, Goffman claims that most people in mental hospitals exhibit their psychotic symptoms and behavior as a direct result of being hospitalized. 1962 Counterculture author Ken Kesey's best-selling novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is based on his experiences working in the psychiatric ward of a Veterans' Administration hospital. Kesey is motivated by the premise that the patients he sees don't really have mental illnesses; they simply behave in ways a rigid society is unwilling to accept. In 1975, Kesey's book will be made into an influential movie starring Jack Nicholson as anti-authoritarian anti-hero Randle McMurphy. Mid-1960s Many seriously mentally ill people are removed from institutions. In the United States they are directed toward local mental health homes and facilities. The number of institutionalized mentally ill people in the United States will drop from a peak of 560,000 to just over 130,000 in 1980. Some of this deinstitutionalization is possible because of anti-psychotic drugs, which allow many psychotic patients to live more successfully and independently. However, many people suffering from mental illness become homeless because of inadequate housing and follow-up care. 1963 In the U.S., passage of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act provides the first federal money for developing a network of community-based mental health services. Advocates for deinstitutionalization believe that people with mental illness will voluntarily seek out treatment at these facilities if they need it, although in practice this will not always be the case. 1979 A support and advocacy organization, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, is founded to provide support, education, advocacy, and research services for people with serious psychiatric illnesses. 1980s An estimated one-third of all homeless people are considered seriously mentally ill, the vast majority of them suffering from schizophrenia. 1986 Advocacy groups band together to form the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. In pursuit of improved treatments and cures for schizophrenia and depression, it will become the largest non-government, donor-supported organization that distributes funds for brain disorder research. 1990s A new generation of anti-psychotic drugs is introduced. These drugs prove to be more effective in treating schizophrenia and have fewer side effects. 1992 A survey of American jails reports that 7.2 percent of inmates are overtly and seriously mentally ill, meaning that 100,000 seriously mentally ill people have been incarcerated. Over a quarter of them are held without charges, often awaiting a bed in a psychiatric hospital.

NAMI Fact Sheet on Cognitive Behavior Therapy

(Image source - http://psychologist-nh.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-5A.png)

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of treatment that focuses on examining the
relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By exploring patterns of thinking
that lead to self-destructive actions and the beliefs that direct these thoughts, people with
mental illness can modify their patterns of thinking to improve coping. CBT is a type of
psychotherapy that is different from traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy in that the
therapist and the patient will actively work together to help the patient recover from their
mental illness. People who seek CBT can expect their therapist to be problem-focused, and
goal-directed in addressing the challenging symptoms of mental illnesses. Because CBT is
an active intervention, one can also expect to do homework or practice outside of sessions.

A person who is depressed may have the belief, "I am worthless," and a person with panic
disorder may have the belief, "I am in danger." While the person in distress likely believes
these to be ultimate truths, with a therapist’s help, the individual is encouraged to challenge
these irrational beliefs. Part of this process involves viewing such negative beliefs as
hypotheses rather than facts and to test out such beliefs by “running experiments.”

Furthermore, people who are participating in CBT are encouraged to monitor and write down
the thoughts that pop into their minds (called "automatic thoughts"). This allows the patient
and their therapist to search for patterns in their thinking that can cause them to have
negative thoughts which can lead to negative feelings and self-destructive behaviors.


When is CBT used as a form of therapy?

Scientific studies of CBT have demonstrated its usefulness for a wide variety of mental
illnesses including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating
disorders, substance abuse disorders, sleep disorders and psychotic disorders. Studies have
shown that CBT actually changes brain activity in people with mental illnesses who receive
this treatment, suggesting that the brain is actually improving its functioning as a result of
engaging in this form of therapy.

CBT has been shown to be as useful as antidepressant medications for some individuals
with depression and may be superior in preventing relapse of symptoms. Patients receiving
CBT for depression are encouraged to schedule positive activities into their daily calendars
in order to increase the amount of pleasure they experience. In addition, depressed patients
learn how to change (“restructure”) negative thought patterns in order to interpret their
environment in a less negatively-biased way. As regular sleep has been found to be very
important in both depression and bipolar disorder, therapists will also target sleeping
patterns to improve and regulate sleep schedules with their patients. Studies indicate that
patients who receive CBT in addition to treatment with medication have better outcomes
than patients who do not receive CBT as an additional treatment.

CBT is also a useful treatment for anxiety disorders. Patients who experience persistent
panic attacks are encouraged to test out beliefs they have related to such attacks, which
can include specific fears related to bodily sensations, and to develop more realistic
responses to their experiences. This is beneficial in decreasing both the frequency and
intensity of panic attacks. Patients who experience obsessions and compulsions are guided
to expose themselves to what they fear in a safe and controlled therapeutic environment.
Beliefs surrounding their fears (of contamination, illness, inflicting harm, etc.) are identified
and changed to decrease the anxiety connected with such fears.

The same is true for people with phobias, including phobias of animals or phobias of
evaluation by others (termed Social Anxiety Disorder). Those in treatment are exposed to
what they fear and beliefs that have served to maintain such fears are targeted for
modification. CBT is often referred to as a “first line treatment” in many anxiety disorders
including generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and
obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.

Over the past two decades, CBT for schizophrenia has received considerable attention in the
United Kingdom and elsewhere abroad. While this treatment continues to develop in the
United States, the results from studies in the United Kingdom and other countries have
encouraged therapists in the U.S. to incorporate this treatment into their own practices. In
this treatment, often referred to as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBT-P),
patients are encouraged to identify their own delusional or paranoid beliefs and to explore
how these beliefs negatively impact their lives.

Therapists will then help patients to engage in experiments to test these beliefs. Treatment
focuses on thought patterns that cause distress and also on developing more realistic
interpretations of events. Delusions are treated by developing an understanding of the kind
of evidence that a person uses to support their beliefs and encouraging them to recognize
evidence that may have been overlooked, evidence that does not support the belief. For
example, a person who thinks that they are being videotaped by aliens may feel less worried
when their therapist helps them to discover that there are no hidden cameras in the waiting
room, or that a television remote does not contain any Alien technology within it.

CBT’s focus on thoughts and beliefs is applicable to a wide variety of symptoms. While the
above summary is certainly not comprehensive, it provides an overview of the principles of
CBT and how they apply to the treatment of various mental illnesses. Because CBT has
excellent scientific data supporting its use in the clinical treatment of mental illness, it has
achieved wide popularity both for therapists and patients alike. A growing number of
psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses have training in CBT.


Reviewed by Ken Duckworth, M.D., and Jacob L. Freedman, M.D., July 2012
NAMI • The National Alliance on Mental Illness • 1 (800) 950-NAMI • www.nami.org
3803 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, Va. 22203