People with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders such as delusions and hallucinations have originally been subjected to conventional therapies. The first to be used were cognitive behavioral therapy, focused on working with thoughts, emotions and behaviors associated with symptoms, and cognitive remediation, to recover functions such as attention or memory. As an alternative, there is a contemporary or third-generation therapy known as metacognitive training (MET), which tries to correct and control thinking errors.
Metacognitive training, like any therapy, is intended to improve the clinical and functional status of patients. To do this, the sessions work with observation, identification and the ability to consciously control the errors of the mind. The treatment tries, in short, to encourage reflection to prevent patients from making hasty decisions that could cause them to have a psychotic break. Much of the therapy consists precisely in confronting patients with these cognitive distortions —present among the general population— in order to normalize and control this type of situation.
This therapy can have an individual or group format, although it is recommended to work in discussion groups, since this will make it easier for them to incorporate situations identified as cognitive errors. The training is structured in several sessions, in which they work with the different errors of the mind through exercises, simulations and audiovisual projections.
The researcher Susana Ochoa compiles the following phases of metacognitive training on the SOM 360 organization portal:
Metacognitive training aims to reduce preconceived ideas among your patients and encourage reflection on their thoughts. In addition, it has been shown to be useful for reducing delusions and hallucinations associated with these psychoses, improving memory or increasing the general quality of life. In short, this therapy is useful in any phase of the disorder, it helps patients achieve greater mental and emotional balance and provides results that are maintained in the long term.
