Meeting young people where they are – digital adaptations of CBT for psychosis: a real-world approach

Purpose Young people experiencing psychosis frequently disengage from traditional psychological therapies, while their routine use of digital technologies offers new opportunities to improve engagement, accessibility and continuity of care. This practitioner article aims to describe how cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) can be developmentally adapted through the integration of digital tools across the clinical pathway. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on emerging evidence and real-world clinical practice, we outline practical strategies for digitally supported outreach, assessment, collaborative formulation, delivery of change strategies, and relapse-prevention planning. Examples include blended digital face-to-face therapy models, mobile tools for symptom monitoring and behavioural experiments, digitally co-created visual formulations, and the potential use of immersive technologies such as virtual reality to support behavioural practice. Findings Implementation considerations are discussed, including co-production with young people, maintaining therapeutic alliance within blended care, and addressing issues of digital equity and safety. Although empirical evidence in adolescent psychosis populations remains limited, this practice synthesis suggests that digitally informed CBTp adaptations offer a promising and developmentally congruent approach for early intervention and child and adolescent mental health services, with potential to enhance engagement and treatment accessibility while supporting future innovation in youth mental health care. Research limitations/implications Although empirical evidence in adolescent psychosis populations remains limited, this practice synthesis suggests that digitally informed CBTp adaptations offer a promising and developmentally congruent approach for early intervention and child and adolescent mental health services, with potential to enhance engagement and treatment accessibility while supporting future innovation in youth mental health care. Originality/value This article provides a clinically focused framework for integrating digital technologies into CBT for psychosis specifically tailored to the developmental and engagement needs of young people, offering practical implementation guidance for early intervention and child and adolescent mental health services.