Cognitive Remediation Is an Evidence-Based Psychological Therapy: Isn't It Time It Was Treated Like One?

Cognitive remediation (CR) is an evidenced-based intervention, but is not consistently included in clinical guidelines, nor implemented widely in mental health services, and is still not fully accepted as a psychological therapy. This is despite demonstrating a boost to recovery, and reductions in health care costs. We describe potential issues as CR matures into a widely accepted and used psychological therapy by drawing on high-quality evidence from reviews and meta-analyses and specifically highlight how CR uses therapeutic formulation, similar to other psychological therapies, to address specific client needs. Most evidence is for those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but we also consider CR benefits for other mental health conditions. Data emerging from different health systems are, at last, providing information on how CR is used, disseminated and practice standards maintained. This may be the information needed to support further implementation, expansion, and consolidation of CR use globally.