Mindfulness for Psychosis

Paul Chadwick, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. Since the 1990s, his pioneering research has advanced psychological understanding and therapy of distressing psychosis, including showing how delusions are amenable to psychological therapy, establishing the foundational concept of the omnipotence of voices, and developing mindfulness for psychosis. Dr. Chadwick is a recipient of the M. B. Shapiro Lifetime Achievement Award, the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Professional Psychology, and the May Davidson Award from the British Psychological Society.Katherine Newman-Taylor, PhD, is Director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Training Programs at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, and Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the National Health Service. Her clinical and research interests are in working with people with psychosis. Dr. Newman-Taylor draws on attachment, mindfulness, and recovery principles to strengthen cognitive-behavioral approaches to living well with voices, paranoia, and other unusual experiences.Nicola Abba, PhD, is Deputy Director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Training Programs at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, and Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the National Health Service. During her doctoral research, Dr. Abba developed the first psychological theory of how people learn to respond mindfully to distressing psychosis experiences. Her clinical practice since the early 2000s has focused on both mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral approaches to working with people with psychosis and other severe and enduring mental health problems, particularly in acute inpatient settings.

• From leading treatment developers, this book presents an empirically supported 8-week mindfulness program specifically designed for people with psychosis. The authors explain how mindfulness for psychosis groups can safely and effectively help participants transform their relationship to distressing voices, images, thoughts, and beliefs; cultivate self-acceptance; and take meaningful steps toward recovery in daily life. Every session combines formal mindfulness practices with reflective group discussions. Clear instructions for implementation are illustrated with vivid case vignettes and sample scripts. Reproducible client handouts can be copied from the book or downloaded from the companion website, which also features audio recordings of the guided practices.

“The authors make the case that mindfulness can be an effective therapeutic approach in and of itself in healing psychosis, and map out in great detail for interested clinicians how to go about it. Healing, of course, does not imply curing, but rather, a coming to terms with things as they are, and optimizing one’s ongoing well-being and ability to cope with challenges to whatever degree possible….May this book provide guidance for all health professionals hoping to be optimally effective in helping people with the diagnosis of psychosis to recognize their humanity, their belonging, and their capacity to navigate the twists and turns of their inner and outer lives with skill, consistency, and compassion for themselves.â€--from the Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction“This book provides a roadmap to implement a mindfulness for psychosis group for clinicians at any level. The session-by-session guide, clear rationale, and practical handouts make the book exceptionally easy to follow. The themes are highly relatable, focusing on the real-world distress and reactivity that hallucinations cause. The manual provides a straightforward framework to help clients choose acceptance over distress, offering a new perspective on psychosis recovery. Reading it made me think about new strategies to try with my clients.â€--Piper S. Meyer-Kalos, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School-