The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) convened a one-day expert panel meeting on Friday, May 17, 2019, entitled “Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Persons with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.” The meeting was attended by subject matter experts and persons with lived experience from across the U.S. and Canada in an effort to examine the key areas of need for redressing the inaccessibility of this life changing intervention.
As a product of this meeting, Dr. Sarah Kopelovich, who also served as a facilitator of this expert panel meeting, took the lead authoring a brief report titled “Routine Administration of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis as the Standard of Care for Individuals Seeking Treatment for Psychosis: State of the Science and Implementation Considerations for Key Stakeholders,” which has recently been published by SAMHSA. Research coordinator, Jennifer Blank, provided research and content support for this document.
This report represents the first federally-issued declaration that CBTp should be offered as the standard of care in behavioral health settings, and that CBTp-informed care, at a minimum, should be offered to individuals with psychotic disorders across forensic, correctional, primary care, and educational settings. The document attempts to build the case for the value that CBTp adds to holistic care for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, to the health care organization, and to the system. It culminates in policy recommendations at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels.