FSW 140 - CBT: Foundational Components, Essential Components for Specific Disorders and Assessment Strategies to Enhance Clinical Care

Course Description

These four half-day sessions will introduce, focus and identify foundational components as well as essential specific components within CBT. The sessions are 3 Fridays and one Wednesday during the Fall Term, 2022. The first session, Friday, September 23 will introduce the conceptual basis for CBT, the primary transdiagnostic intervention, Socratic questioning, behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring and exposure. Wednesday, October 26 – the focus will be on evidence-based CBT interventions for the treatment of depression in adults. Friday, November 25 will provide in-depth instruction in the main CBT components required to treat panic disorder, agoraphobia and generalized anxiety disorder, including in vivo and interoceptive exposure, cognitive restructuring of rumination/worry and physiological tension reduction. The final session, Friday, December 16 will identify the therapeutic benefits of employing assessment strategies while providing interventions. Common biases inherent in diagnostic decision-making and strategies to counter them will also be identified.

Our instructor, Dr. Kerry Mothersill is the Coordinator of the Regional Psychological
Assessment Service (Calgary Zone, AHS) and an Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary. He was the Psychology Professional Practice Lead in the AHS, Calgary Zone from 2011 to 2021. He provides Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and psychological assessment services in addition to teaching and supervision (Spectrum Psychology). Dr. Mothersill received his formal CBT training at the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia and was the founder and coordinator of the AHS Cognitive Therapy Service for 35 years. He is a former President of the Canadian Psychological Association and the College of Alberta Psychologists.

Course Details

By completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Understand the importance of collaborative empiricism
• Identify the research supporting this evidence-based therapy 
• Distinguish the evidence-based CBT interventions and applications for the treatment of depression in adults
• Differentiate the main CBT components required to treat specific anxiety disorders
• Understand the importance of the therapeutic relationship which will be demonstrated through illustration
• Compare the therapeutic benefits of employing assessment strategies while providing interventions
• Discover the common biases inherent in diagnostic decision-making and strategies to counter them