FCMHW PROGRAM: Maximising the effectiveness of psychological treatment for young men with psychosis
Contact: Ryan Balzan

Overview:

Psychosis is a serious mental illness that has a substantial harmful effect on psychological and social functioning and affects an estimated 200,000 Australians, beginning in early adulthood. Men with psychosis have disproportionately worse outcomes, characterised by more severe psychotic symptoms, poorer social functioning, and longer duration of untreated illness.

One of the most debilitating and striking features of this disorder are delusions, which often lead to difficulties in processing information in an adaptive manner. However, treatment outcomes for existing interventions of delusions remain sub-optimal, particularly for men with psychosis, who report worse prognosis and are less likely to stay engaged with treatment. Early intervention offers the greatest chance of improving long-term outcomes for men with psychosis. Early administration of psychological treatments to young men with psychosis is vital, given these treatments have fewer adverse effects and are better tolerated than medications.

The metacognitive training (MCT) programme is an effective psychological treatment for reducing delusional symptoms and may be particularly effective in young men. This is due to MCT’s unique focuses on the underlying problematic thinking styles responsible for delusions, rather than directly challenging these beliefs, which makes it a less confrontational approach.

This program’s focus is on de-stigmatising psychosis and its youth-friendly audio-visual delivery to help foster a strong therapeutic alliance that will also help young men stay engaged with therapy and could improve their long-term prognosis.