Abstract
Delusions are often resistant to change, persisting despite successful antipsychotic treatment or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This study aimed to target reasoning processes, particularly the ‘Jumping to Conclusions’ (JTC) bias and belief flexibility, which are thought to play a part in maintaining delusional conviction.13 participants with a diagnosis of psychosis and high levels of conviction in their delusions completed a one-off computerised training package, lasting approximately 1.5 h. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, pre-intervention (two weeks later), post-intervention (immediately after completing the training) and at 1 month follow-up.The package was well received by participants. There were improvements in JTC, belief flexibility and delusional conviction between pre- and post-intervention measures. Controlled studies powered to detect changes in key outcomes are warranted in order to evaluate the efficacy of the programme.
Highlights
Delusions are resistant to change, often persisting despite antipsychotic treatment (Craig et al, 2004; Mizrahi et al, 2006)
The results suggest that the programme holds promise in changing, over a single session, outcomes which are typically resistant to standard treatments
As an uncontrolled case series, the results provide a preliminary analysis which will guide future research, including providing an initial estimate of effect sizes for future larger-scale studies
Summary
Delusions are resistant to change, often persisting despite antipsychotic treatment (Craig et al, 2004; Mizrahi et al, 2006). Experimental research has consistently found that people with delusions are more likely to jump to conclusions than non-delusional controls (see reviews by Fine, Gardner, Craigie, & Gold, 2007; Freeman, 2007; Garety & Freeman, 1999). The introduction described the concept of JTC, highlighting that everyone jumps to conclusions sometimes, especially in unclear or confusing situations, and that this can lead us to make mistakes. Task One: ‘What’s the picture?’ Task One was designed to introduce the idea that it can be difficult to understand a situation and reach a conclusion without having all of the information. Participants were shown a series of six pictures, revealed one piece at a time over eight slides. The task was designed so that all options seemed plausible initially, but as more pieces were revealed certain options could be ruled out and it became clearer what the picture was
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