Cognitive therapy for punishment paranoia: a single case experiment.
There is growing agreement that at least certain kinds of delusions defend against negative self-evaluation, and in consequence that cognitive therapy for delusions needs to address issues of self-evaluation more explicitly. However, in practice it can be difficult to enable clients to see the connection between delusions and self-esteem. The present single-case study exemplifies the conceptual and practical application of cognitive therapy for individuals who are both paranoid and have strong negative self-evaluative beliefs. A multiple-baseline approach is used, whereby one man's negative self-evaluative belief and two paranoid delusions are challenged sequentially. Conviction in two of the three beliefs changes at the point of intervention; conviction in the third changes prior to intervention. We discuss the details of the case, as well as the wider implications for cognitive approaches to delusions.
Chadwick
P
P
Psychological Treatments Service, Department of Psychiatry, Royal South Hants Hospital, Southampton, UK.
Trower
P
P
D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011678:Punishment