What is BEACON?

A brief, technology-enhanced, transdiagnostic psychotherapy for psychosis spectrum. 

​Incorporates evidence-based therapeutic elements of traditional face-to-face CBT, leveraging the accessibility of smartphones to provide effective care that is available to all communities, including minority and underserved populations experiencing symptoms of psychosis.

App-Integrated Care with MindLAMP

Smartphone app integrated care, with mindLAMP, offers the unique opportunity to capture symptoms as they happen. Easily track symptoms as they appear and utilize smartphone sensors to receive data reports to inform clinical care. With mindLAMP, patients are able to use the microphone to record their surroundings to check for auditory hallucinations and capture reality around them. 

With the mindLAMP app, patients can ...

• track their symptoms daily and weekly
• record their experiences to review them alone or with their clinician
• access a wide variety of psychosis-specific coping skills
• practice skills learned in session with clinician
• monitor the emotional experiences surrounding their symptoms in real time
• see trends in their sleep, hometime, steps and other life-metrics
• get connected with valuable resources and learn more about their symptoms
• practice a variety of cognitive skills, including memory games

A Look Into Some of the BEACON MindLAMP Modules:

MindLAMP is an app designed to collect patient data, and share it back to patients via the Digital Navigator and Clinician. This allows patients and clinicians to customize care to each person's unique situation based on individual correlations and trends.​
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• Utilizing mindLAMP within sessions as a treatment tool complements module delivery
• Each session has recommended ‘homework’, which the clinician can assign to the patient each week

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learn more about mindLAMP

Example of Data Report generated from MindLAMP data

The Need for BEACON

• As of 2022, at least one-third of people in the US with serious mental illness (SMI) did not receive any mental health treatment in the past year, missing the target set by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion by 5%.
• While treatment rates for SMI have increased since 2001, they are still significantly lower compared to those with major depression and severe impairment.
• A small proportion of SMI patients receive evidence-based treatments, with less than 24% of the psychosis patient population currently receiving Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp), and only 0.57% of mental health clinicians being trained in CBTp.
• The need for better models of illness trajectory, enhancing treatments, and access to care for psychosis is a global priority, as outlined by NICE guidelines since 2014.
• The growing popularity of psychosocial interventions for psychosis includes the use of digital interventions, with many patients already using technology to manage their illness.
• Challenges in treating psychosis include limited availability of evidence-based treatments, cost, socioeconomic disadvantages, stigma, and poor treatment adherence.

The Unified Protocol: A Transdiagnostic Approach

• BEACON integrates traditional CBT with digital tools (the mindLAMP app) to provide accessible, evidence-based, and brief treatment to diverse communities.
• BEACON uses the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP), adapted with CBTp principles, to address a broad spectrum of psychosis symptoms.
• The BEACON model emphasizes flexibility and personalization in treatment, aiming to reduce participant dropout by catering to individual preferences and needs.
• A digital navigator in the BEACON model acts as an intermediary to enhance treatment engagement and maintain the connection between clinicians and participants.

Evidence for Treatment 

• The Unified Protocol (UP) has been shown to be helpful across multiple disorders with moderate to large effect
  • Including Schizophrenia and Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis (Peláez et al., 2023; 2024)
• New Emphasis on person-centered care and psychosocial interventions (Sauer-Zavala et al., 2017)
• Brief treatments for psychosis are effective and recommended (Naeem et al., 2016)
  • CBT for psychosis is the standard psychotherapy for psychosis, especially in brief format - increasing accessibility
• The UP is effective even when delivered online (Yan et al., 2022)

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Addressing Core Processes

Negative affectivity - more frequent and intense negative emotional experiences
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Negative reactivity - interpret things in a more negative way (negative cognitive bias)
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Avoidance - avoid the situation/emotion (reinforcing the negative bias, starting a positive feedback loop)

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Treatment Timeline

Please refer to the timeline graphic below to explore the 9-10 week trajectory for BEACON patients

BEACON Treatment Manual

A manual was written to supplement the brief version of The Unified Protocol - used by our Digital Clinic. In this way, all aspects of treatment for psychosis patient populations could be outlined in greater detail.

BEACON Therapy Modules

Tap on each module to learn the main goal of each BEACON session below! 

understanding and monitoring emotions

GOALS of this session:

• To learn about the important and adaptive function of emotions in everyday life.
• To learn the components that make up an emotional experience and gain a greater awareness of emotional experiences.
• To learn how emotional experiences unfold, including triggers, responses, and consequences of emotions.
• To learn the ways emotions influence our actions and behaviors and learn the skills necessary to monitor emotional experiences.

mindful awareness

GOALS of this session:

• To learn about how reactions to emotions affect emotional experiences.
  
• To learn the concept of non-judgmental emotion awareness and how to look at your emotional experiences like an outside observer.
  
• To learn about the importance of present-focused awareness.
  
• To practice present-focused, nonjudgmental awareness using mindfulness exercises.

cognitive flexibility

GOALS of this session:

• Introduce cognitive appraisal, automatic appraisal
  
• Practice ways to evaluate and reevaluate thinking patterns (“thinking traps”)
  
• Increase flexibility in appraisal

countering avoidant and emotion-driven behaviors

GOALS of this session:

• To learn about emotion-driven behaviors (EDBs) and emotion avoidance
  
• To learn how our behaviors can influence our emotional experiences
  
• To learn how to identify our EDBs and counter them

exposure

GOALS of this session:

• To understand the purpose of emotion exposures
  
• To learn how to design effective emotion exposure exercises
  
• To develop an emotion exposure hierarchy
  
• To practice confronting strong emotions through emotion exposure exercises in and out of session 

interpersonal effectiveness

GOALS of this module:

• To learn strategies for effective communication - i.e., DEARMAN.
• To learn how to express needs and wants in a way that is respectful of all parties involved.
• To practice these interpersonal skills in and out of session, in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes.

Working with delusions

GOALS of this module:

• To learn about what delusions are and why they happen
• To learn how delusional beliefs fit into the emotional experience
• To learn ways to identify and interrupt delusional thoughts as they occur
• To practice cognitive flexibility surrounding delusional beliefs

Working with Hallucinations

​GOALS of this module:

• To learn about what hallucinations are and why they happen
• To learn how to explore hallucinations through the emotional experience
• To learn skills to cope with different hallucinations 

A Patient's Journey with the Clinic

Patient Interest

I am interested in the online therapy clinic for psychosis because it offers a groundbreaking, cost-free, and accessible treatment option for someone like me, aligning with my passion for increasing mental health accessibility. I think this is an interesting and innovative idea and look forward to the process.

This is something I've actually always thought [about] trying out...I'm glad to be a part of it

I love the virtual and digital angles of this clinic idea.
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BEACON Support Cases

Please note, the case examples presented here are fictional and for illustrative purposes only. They do not represent real patients or specific individuals. 

Background: Maria, a 45-year-old woman, has been living with schizophrenia for over two decades. While her symptoms are mostly stable with medication, she experiences occasional episodes of paranoia and social withdrawal. Traditional therapy has been inconsistent due to transportation challenges and scheduling conflicts.
How BEACON Helps:

• Flexible Virtual Sessions: Maria can meet with her therapist from home, reducing the stress of traveling to appointments.
• Daily Symptom Monitoring: The mobile app allows her to log her symptoms and experiences as they happen, helping her care team track changes in real time.
• Integrated Care Coordination: Her therapist collaborates with her digital navigator to navigate scheduling conflicts and come up with ways to see her consistently.

Background: 18-year-old Sam recently started hearing voices and feeling disconnected from reality. Their parents are concerned but unsure if it’s psychosis or something else. They want to intervene early but are wary of hospitalization.
How BEACON Helps:

• Early Screening & Assessment: A digital intake process helps identify early warning signs and connect Sam with a specialized clinician.
• Engaging Youth-Friendly Support: Sam has access to interactive coping tools designed for teens, and they can learn more about their experiences through the psychoeducation on the app.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost?

Care through BEACON is totally free!

What is the time commitment?

BEACON care consists of 7-8 teleheath appointments with a trained clinician and 9-10 brief online meetings with a Digital Navigator. Appointments with clinicians are about 45 minutes long and meetings with the Digital Navigator are about 20 minutes.

What is a Digital Navigator?

The Digital Navigator is an integral part of BEACON. This peer role is here to help with the integration of technology-enhanced care. The Digital Navigator helps individuals with onboarding to the mindLAMP app, troubleshooting app issues, and interpreting results from the personalized data visualizations. 

How do i know if i am eligible? 

BEACON is here for individuals with psychosis spectrum symptoms. Not sure if you are eligible? Reach out to Victoria Lisowski ([email protected]) for more information. 

Is there an in person option?

Unfortunately, BEACON is exclusively online, but we are open to feedback to best suit your needs.

Interested in BEACON?

You are eligible to join BEACON if you are

• Receiving current care
• Having a psychosis spectrum symptoms, or have had a history of psychosis 
• Open to app-integrated care
• Willing to complete brief daily and weekly surveys on the app 
• No insurance necessary!

You can email 
[email protected]
​for more information

BEACON In The Community

NACBTp Virtual COnference

​Abstract Title: Expanding Access to CBT for Psychosis Through Digital Innovation
By: Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian PhD, John Torous MD, MBI, Victoria Lisowski BS, Joey Rodriguez BA 

Visit to learn more: https://www.nacbtp.org/​

Mass STEP Conference

Presentation Title: ​BEACON: Digital Tools in Care for Individuals Across the Psychosis Spectrum
By: Victoria Lisowski BS, Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian PhD, John Torous MD

ISPS- US Conference 2025

Title: BEACON: Digital Tools in Care for People Across the Psychosis Spectrum
Presenter: Victoria Lisowski BS

To Learn More: https://isps.org/events/isps-us-2025-annual-conference/