Cognitive behavioral therapy for schizophrenia: A review of recent literature and meta-analyses

Cognitive behavioral therapy for schizophrenia (CBTp) is an evidence based practice based on the work by Aaron T. Beck, MD. Initially, CBTp research focused on adjunctive treatment for patients with medication resistant positive symptoms; however, more recent studies have expanded to include areas such as the treatment of negative symptoms, comorbid disorders and the use of a group modality. Several randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses have established CBTp as an effective treatment for the symptoms associated with schizophrenia with moderate effect sizes. This paper provides an overview of CBTp theory and techniques, a discussion of recent clinical trials for specific symptoms clusters (i.e., hallucinations, delusions and negative symptoms) and a review of recent meta-analyses. In addition, future directions for research are proposed.