Clinical Skills IV: Intervention Techniques

Full course description

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a widely used treatment regime that is considered as the evidence-based treatment for a wide range of psychopathological disorders, including anxiety disorders and depression. The behavioural component, exposure, was developed in the sixties by researchers like Skinner and was considered a breakthrough for specific phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These disorders were seen as untreatable at that time. In the eighties, the cognitive component started to develop. Aaron Beck, who, in those days was trained as a psychoanalytic therapist, was able to treat depression within a few months using his cognitive approach. This was also considered a breakthrough, since psychoanalytic treatments for depression at that time normally took years of treatment. Researchers and therapists started to combine the behavioural and cognitive techniques, resulting in cognitive behavioural therapy. Over the years, many studies have shown the effectiveness of this treatment and, in the Netherlands CBT is included in the official professional guidelines for various psychopathological disorders. In this skills training, students get acquainted with the elementary therapeutic procedures of CBT, including case conceptualization, explaining the rationale, and applying exposure and cognitive therapy. Students will receive theoretical background information (literature/teacher) and observe the practice of CBT (teacher/video materials). In addition, they will practice various therapeutic procedures themselves (in session/homework) and write a verbatim report or therapy sessions.