Training Clinical Staff in Genuine CBT: One Large Agency’s Preliminary Story

• Published in: International journal of cognitive therapy Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 479 - 496
• Main Authors: Johnson, Laurel L., Phythian, Kelli, Wong, Brenda, McGill, Claire, Hinds, Aaliyah, Choate, Ellison, Zelcer, Hannah, Mendez, Eunice, Movahedi, Yasaman, Friedberg, Robert D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-12-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavior modification; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Behavioral Therapy; Children & youth; Clinical Psychology; Clinical training; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Cognitive therapy; Competence; Efficacy; Evidence-based practice; Health services; Mental health care; Psychology; Ratings & rankings; Supervision; Supervisors; Teenagers; Workplaces; Youth; Public mental health agency; Supervision; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Competency
• ISSN: 1937-1217; 1937-1209; 1937-1217
• DOI: 10.1007/s41811-023-00179-9

While the science documenting CBT’s efficacy and effectiveness is strong, workplace applications of the treatment model are often implemented improperly. Therefore, training clinicians in the correct delivery of CBT is essential. This article describes one large agency’s initial effort to develop and evaluate a system-wide initiative to supervise clinicians in CBT. Thirty-five clinicians received supervision over 10 sessions and were evaluated on the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale for Children and Adolescents (CTRS-CA). Client progress was concurrently monitored by the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17). The results showed that the initiative was feasible and acceptable. There was an improvement in competency scores (
t
= 4.71,
p
< 0.001,
d
= 8.98). Sixty-nine percent of clinicians reached the competency threshold by the end of the training period. Clients also demonstrated significant improvement on the PSC-17 (
t
= 4.31,
p
< 0.001,
d
= 4.67). Consequently, this project illustrated the importance of a structured system-wide approach to supervision and training staff to competently deliver CBT.