This is a category of symptoms related to how people perceive reality. This can take the form of hallucinations (distorted sensory experiences) or delusions (distorted understanding). These experiences are sometimes accompanied by difficulty communicating to others or behaving in ways that are easily understood by others. We call this collection of symptoms a psychotic disorder when these experiences make it hard for them to function in every day life or get along well with others.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) has been shown to be especially effective for people who are early on into their experiences of psychotic symptoms. There is often a heavy involvement of family members and other people who are important in the person’s life.

It’s estimated that between 1 and 3% of the population will experience a psychotic disorder in their lifetime. However, a more interesting question is how many people will experience psychotic symptoms (i.e. hallucinations, delusions, etc.) in their lifetime. If you’ve ever felt like you were literally falling when you were on the verge of sleep, you have had a hallucination.

It is very common for folx experiencing a psychotic disorder to not be aware of their symptoms despite experiencing significant distress from the consequences of how they are coping with those symptoms. In these cases, support for family and caregivers can be a major tool for indirectly treating the individual experiencing psychotic symptoms.