About the Book
Persecutory delusions, the unfounded beliefs that others intend harm to the individual, are a major psychiatric problem. They are a common feature of severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder and bipolar disorder, often lead to admission to psychiatric hospital, and are a cause of considerable distress to patients and carers. However, increasingly it is recognised that persecutory delusions reflect the severe end of a spectrum of paranoia,
which also encompasses beliefs and worries about threats from others that are common in the general population. In the last ten years an increasing number of researchers and clinicians have focussed on
explaining paranoid experience in both clinical and non-clinical populations, with fascinating results. This recent research is presented for the first time as a book. In this landmark publication, the three major authorities in the field bring together the current knowledge about the assessment, understanding, and treatment of persecutory delusions. Leading experts in cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, social psychiatry, neuroimaging, and neuroscience explain their
perspectives on paranoia. Pharmacological, cognitive, and family interventions are comprehensively reviewed, and personal accounts of paranoia are included.
Table of Contents:
1: Peter Chadwick: A personal account
Assessment, Epidemiology and Prognosis
2: Daniel Freeman: The assessment of persecutory ideation
3: Bart Rutten, Jim van Os, Mari Dominguez & Lydia Krabbendam: Epidemiology and social factors: findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS)
4: Martin Harrow, Thomas Jobe & Ellen Astrachan-Fletcher: Prognosis of persecutory delusions in schizophrenia: a 20-year longitudinal study
5: Jayne Taylor: Violence and persecutory delusions
6: Alistair Munro: Persecutory delusions in the setting of delusional disorder
Theory - Psychological Processes
7: Daniel Freeman, Philippa Garety & David Fowler: The puzzle of paranoia
8: Richard Bentall, Peter Kinderman & Michael Moutoussis: The role of self-esteem in paranoid delusions: The psychology, neurophysiology and development of persecutory beliefs
9: Dennis Combs & David Penn: Social cognition in paranoia
10: Rhiannon Corcoran & Suzanne Kaiser: Persecutory delusions and theory of mind: long-standing debates and emerging issues
11: Robyn Langdon, Ryan McKay & Max Coltheart: The cognitive neuropsychological understanding of persecutory delusions
Theory - Biological Processes
12: Marc Laruelle: Dopamine and persecutory delusions
13: Cécile Henquet, Marta Di Forti, Robin Murray & Jim van Os: The role of cannabis in inducing paranoia and psychosis
14: Matt Broome & Philip McGuire: Imaging and persecutory delusions
Treatment - Overviews
15: Paul Bebbington, Steve Pilling & Craig Whittington: Pharmacological treatment of persecutory delusions
16: Philippa Garety, Richard Bentall & Daniel Freeman: The research evidence of the effectiveness of CBT for persecutory delusions
17: Juliana Onwumere, Ben Smith & Elizabeth Kuipers: Family intervention in psychosis: working with persecutory delusions
Treatment - Therapy Examples
18: Karl Murphy & Ben Smith: Coping with paranoia: a first person account developed during cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis
19: Sophie Parker, Samantha Bowe & Anthony Morrison: Cognitive therapy for suspiciousness and paranoia in individuals at high-risk of developing psychosis
20: David Kingdon, Katie Ashcroft & Douglas Turkington: Cognitive behaviour therapy for persecutory delusions: three case studies
21: Paul Chadwick & Peter Trower: Person-based cognitive therapy for paranoia: the challenges of Poor Me
About the Author :
Daniel Freeman is a Wellcome Trust Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and a consultant clinical psychologist in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. He publishes prolifically in the leading international journals, makes regular keynote addresses at international conferences, and is an Associate Editor of the British Journal of Clinical Psychology. He studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, specialising in experimental
psychology, and has completed doctorates in psychology and clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He is the lead author of Overcoming Paranoid and Suspicious Thoughts, the
first self-help book for people affected by suspicious thoughts, and has recently written a popular science book on paranoia, Paranoia: The 21st Century Fear Richard Bentall attended the University College of North Wales, Bangor as an undergraduate (1975-9) before taking a Ph.D. in experimental psychology at the same institution (awarded 1983). Moved to the University of Liverpool to obtain a qualification in clinical psychology (1984) before later achieving a part-time MA in philosophy applied
to health care from University of Wales, Swansea (1989). Returned to Liverpool to work as a lecturer (1986) after a brief stint working for the National Health Service as a forensic clinical
psychologist (1984-1986). Was appointed professor at Liverpool (1994) before moving to the University of Manchester (1999) and then returning to the University of Bangor (2007). Research interests include psychological processes involved in psychotic symptoms (e.g. hallucinations and delusions) and the psychological treatment of severe mental illness. Philippa Garety studied Philosophy and Psychology (Natural Sciences) at Cambridge University in the 1970s, then undertook clinical psychology
training at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, followed by a PhD. Since then she has combined clinical practice in the NHS with research. Her main focus of research has been the investigation of
cognitive processes in psychosis, particularly reasoning and affective processes in delusions, together with the development of psychological treatments, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). She is interested in translating the findings of theoretical and empirical research into improvements in treatments and service provision. Her current post is as Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London and Head of Psychology for the South London and
Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
Review :
'Persecutory Delusions is an outstanding book that provides a unique update on the assessment, biological and psychological processes, and treatment of this important clinical phenomenon. Freeman, Bentall, and Garety, all seasoned clinicians who have also made valuable contributions to theories of delusions, have assembled world experts on this topic for the first time in this welcomed volume. The state-of-the-art summary of research, theory, and clinical practice related to persecutory delusions make this book a critical resource for anyone seeking to understand or treat psychosis.' Professor Kim T. Mueser, Dartmouth Medical School ' Delusions have long been known to psychiatry - but have largely been considered a subset of 'psychosis'. However, over the last decade a range of scientists, psychologists, phenomenologists, pharmacologists, and imagers have been studying delusions in their own right, and social epidemiologists and geneticists have been looking for their causes in clinical populations and wider society. This book is the first to pull together these different perspectives under one cover. For scientists and practitioners who study and treat psychosis this is a remarkable resource. This will be a "go to" reference book for developing a comprehensive understanding of delusions.' Professor Shitij Kapur, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
