Psychosis REACH (Recovery by Enabling Adult Carers at Home)

“Being a part of a formal training like this was a blessing. Never before had this happened. I appreciated having the training as it focused on the caregivers.”

“I feel more equipped to communicate with my son when he is feeling manic. I can spot the signs earlier now and I see and say how proud I am of his efforts. I recognize that he can’t always control what he is saying but that doesn’t make what he is saying unimportant or unmeaningful. I enjoyed the training and how it has supplemented other trainings I have had.”

“Life changing. Although friends or family may notice or express this, I know I myself have changed for the better!”

“The Reach program has been invaluable to our family. Knowledge of what it means to be psychotic is no longer a subject that brings up traumatic memories. I have a better understanding that psychosis can come & go and has varying levels of degree. I also have a far better understanding of coping tools that my son can employ when he starts feeling “off.” I no longer live in fear and dread. This program has provided a link and a bridge between me and my son that I will forever be grateful for. ♥♥ Thank you.”

“CBTp therapy has positively impacted my interactions with my family member as well as my own sanity. This was able to occur within just 24 hours. It has helped me to identify that the dominant messaging that is within our society about psychosis not being treatable with anything other than medication, is false. I have heard from so many people this message along the way of trying to help my loved one, including the medical professionals. The phrase and the charge to “expect recovery” has changed my perspective and approach completely. After one day of training I was able to have an interaction with my loved one that helped create a positive restart in our relationship. This emotional connection had not occurred for months. I received hope from the evidence based information and CBTp training. This is what family members, caregivers, and especially already trained medical professionals need to embrace and learn to make a positive change within our very broken and archaic health care systems.”

“During the training program, I learned new skills for what I should do and how I should show up and be present during an episode of psychosis (in my case depressive visual and auditory hallucinations). I put those skills right to work and was able to surface many details about the experience my loved one was having and then raise “do you think, maybe…” questions that resulted in her returning to baseline and heading off to school within a few hours (rather than taking 24-48 hours). We continue to use these skills to the same degree of success in moving through these tough episodes.”

“CBTp has helped me and my family look at our communication with our loved one in a whole new light and to build on the strengths that exist in our relationship with her.”

“The CBTp REACH Course was a God-send for our family – It was like “looking thru a glass, clearly” re our son’s illness, providing ways for us to not only provide better care for him but for ourselves, his family, as well.”

“From a non-relationship fraught with estrangement and distrust to one with better connection and openness – CBTp REACH skills are helping me bridge what was a huge divide between mother and son.”

The SPIRIT Lab launched the Psychosis REACH Family Ambassador program in 2020. Family Ambassadors are intended to offer Psychosis REACH skills practice, emotional support, and to share their experience adopting psychosis REACH strategies with other family members and caregivers. Each trainee will have the opportunity to connect with a Family Ambassador following a training.

Family Ambassadors are family members with lived experience caring for a loved one with psychosis. They have gone through the Psychosis REACH training themselves and have seen first-hand how these skills can positively impact families’ relationships with their loved ones.

To learn more about the Family Ambassador program, including how to become a Family Ambassador, click HERE.

The SPIRIT Lab is committed to helping individuals and families who are navigating life with psychosis. Psychosis REACH was launched with donor funding, and philanthropic supports enables us to continue to provide this training to families for free or at low cost all across the globe.

To support our work, please visit https://give.uwmedicine.org/psychosisREACH and click “ADD”

Thank you!

The UW SPIRIT Lab is pleased to provide these resources on CBT for psychosis. Additional resources for families can be found here: Resources you can access now

• SAMHSA Routine Guide to Implementing CBTp
• CBTp Fact Sheet
• Family Resource Guide
• Problem Solving Worksheet
• Video of CBT Informed Caring for Schizophrenia
• Psychosis – First Aid Guidelines for Loved Ones

The following articles evaluate the Psychosis REACH model and present on caregiver outcomes following participation in the training:

• Kopelovich, S. L., Stiles, B., Monroe-DeVita, M., Hardy, K., Hallgren, K., & Turkington, D. (2021). Psychosis REACH: Effects of a Brief CBT-Informed Training for Family and Caregivers of Individuals With Psychosis. Psychiatric Services, appi-ps.
• Turkington, D., Gega, L., Lebert, L., Douglas-Bailey, M., Rustom, N., Alberti, M., … & Naeem, F. (2018). A training model for relatives and friends in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) informed care for psychosis. Cogent Psychology, 5(1), 1497749.

The following articles showcase the Psychosis REACH program in the media:

 Schizophrenia and the Family: Learning to Communicate

Learn how the Psychosis REACH program teaches families to use CBTp skills to help foster communication with their loved ones.

How to support a loved one through psychosis

In her article, Dr. Akansha Vaswani-Bye shares how to support your loved one with psychosis and the role of Psychosis REACH in their recovery.

Family Interventions as Standard of Care

Dr. Kopelovich shared with Psycom Pro news outlet how new guidelines can help advance family-focused interventions for psychosis.