What Can Qualitative Research Tell Us about Service User Perspectives of CBT for Psychosis? A Synthesis of Current Evidence

Abstract

Background: Although recommended in national treatment guidelines, there is much that is still unknown about CBT for psychosis (CBTp) in terms of the process and experience of the therapy. One way to investigate these gaps in knowledge is to explore service users' experiences through qualitative research. Aims: To consolidate existing qualitative explorations of CBTp from a service user perspective. Method: Qualitative synthesis and comparison with previous research findings. Results: Two analytical themes were created from initial descriptive themes common to multiple studies: “The ingredients in the process of therapy” and “What is the process of therapy?” Conclusions: Qualitative synthesis is a useful method for generating new insights from multiple qualitative studies. Service user perspectives on CBTp corroborate existing research and may also offer more novel findings regarding the ingredients and process of therapy. However, qualitative studies are limited in number and do not always maximize the prominence of service user experience.