Cognitive therapy for punishment paranoia: a single case experiment
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Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
1Psychological Treatments Service, Department of Psychiatry, Royal South Hants Hospital, Southampton, UK.
Abstract:
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.
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