Compassion-Focused Therapy for Psychosis (CFT-P) is a group programme for people with experiences of psychosis.
Psychosis is a mental health difficulty where the person can find it difficult to recognise what is real or not. There are a number of symptoms of psychosis, including voice-hearing, unusual beliefs, rigid thought patterns, and flattened mood—all of which impact on daily and social functioning.
CFT-P is a compassion-focused therapy programme for people with experiences linked with psychosis, although the person may not necessarily have a diagnosis of psychosis. Service users taking part in the programme are invited to develop greater understandings of and compassion towards their experiences.
Service users are also supported to formulate, or make sense of, their experiences associated with psychosis in the context of psychological, social, and biological factors. There is also a focus on developing soothing skills to cope with the sense of threat that experiences of psychosis can bring up for the person.
Who is CFT-P suitable for?
CFT-P is open to people with any experience linked with psychosis, such as paranoia, delusions, hearing voices, and dissociation (a disconnection from thoughts, memories or feelings); the group suits people who are motivated to learn new ways of coping with these often distressing experiences.
It is not necessary for participants to have a diagnosis related to psychosis, such as schizophrenia; people both with and without such diagnoses are welcome.
Who runs the CFT-P group?
The CFT-P group programme is run by a team of two psychologists and an assistant psychologist from our Psychology Department here in St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS). From time to time, a psychologist in clinical training on a supervised placement may also be part of the CFT-P team.
When and where does the CFT-P group run?
The CFT-P group programme consists of 12 weekly sessions, with one being an individual review session. It is held during a morning session as an in-person group in St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin 8 once each week. There is also a mid-way individual review session for each participant to support their engagement with the programme.
How can people take part in CFT-P?
CFT-P is an outpatient programme.
Participants do not have to have attended SPMHS before being referred to the programme.
Those interested can discuss taking part in the programme with their GP or, if they are a current service user in SPMHS, with their multidisciplinary team, who can make a referral to CFT-P. Following referral, a psychologist from the CFT-P team will meet with the service user to see whether this programme is a good fit and likely to be of benefit, and to answer questions the service user may have.
Contact the programme team
For more information about CFT-P, please contact:
- Tara Deehan, Senior Counselling Psychologist | Call 01 249 3578 or email tdeehan@stpatricks.ie
- Dr Conal Twomey, Senior Clinical Psychologist | Call 01 249 3329 or email ctwomey@stpatricks.ie
- the Assistant Psychologist | Call 01 249 3479.
