A CBT-based anxiety management workshop in first-episode psychosis

When co-occurring with psychosis, anxiety can adversely affect social and occupational functioning and can cause debilitating levels of distress. This article describes a single-centre three-phase service development project culminating in the introduction of 1-day anxiety management workshops for service users of an Early Intervention for Psychosis Service (EIPS). The workshops, which were run by a mental health nurse and an assistant psychologist, attracted 12 participants with a first episode of psychosis and co-morbid anxiety. Quantitative and qualitative measures demonstrated a statistically significant reduction (p<0.0005) in subjective anxiety levels following the intervention, and that participants felt they were likely to make use of the skills in the future. It can be concluded that such workshops are not only time-and cost-effective, but also valuable in delivering brief interventions based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to service users with a first episode of psychosis.