Portfolio : volume 1 : including my thesis : Exploring the mediating role of CBT and ACT therapy variables on the relationship between hearing voices and both clinical and personal recovery

• Main Author: Holt, Alison Mary
• Published: University of Surrey 2012
• Subjects: 616.898
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.576491

Psychological therapies are currently being developed to support those who are distressed by hearing voices. This study set out to investigate whether skills advocated by CST and ACT approaches mediate levels of recovery. Two constructs of recovery, namely clinical and personal recovery, were used to examine whether different mechanisms of change were at play for each type of recovery. 150 participants were recruited via internet-based charities and organisations focussed on the voice hearing experience. Participants were people who actively heard voices, and had done so for at least three months. Participants were between the ages of 18 and 65, and completed measures online at a single time-point. A correlational design was used to test the hypotheses. Seven out of the nine proposed variables significantly mediated both relationships when looking at each variable individually. The variables proposed by CST and ACT therapies were found to be significant mediators, suggesting these are legitimate intervention strategies. However, multiple mediation analyses found that there were different 'mediation profiles' for each type of recovery. This suggests different processes need to be facilitated in order to support people to achieve a more holistic recovery. Suggestions for future research were proposed.