Professional Certificate in Third Generation CBT Approaches

Course details

Standard CBT approaches, based on Aaron Beck’s original model, have had a high level of success in working with the most common forms of depression, and with many of the anxiety disorders, as well as contributing significantly to areas such as the treatment of addictions and eating disorders. However, they have struggled to make a significant impact on more ingrained, complex problems such as chronic depression, PTSD, personality disorders, self-harm etc. Their value is also questionable in relation to the more subtle existential life-challenges many clients face. This has led to the development of a variety of “third generation” CBT-inspired approaches.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

DBT is an integrative therapeutic approach, developed by Marsha Linehan as a way of working with the uniquely complex challenges of clients with a Borderline Personality Disorder profile. The instability, comorbidity, multiple presenting problems and “therapy-interfering behaviours” characteristic of this profile means that therapists need an evidentially-based but therapeutically flexible set of principles, based on constantly updated information from relevant Biological, Environmental, Developmental and Learning theories. Linehan also believed that there is a need for balance between focusing on change and focusing on acceptance, an attitude that is reflected in some of the other third generation CBT schools. There is also a strong emphasis on lifeskills training, including the development of emotional tolerance.

Schema Therapy

Schema Therapy is an innovative, integrative therapy that significantly expands on traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, It borrows elements from Attachment Theory, Gestalt and Psychoanalysis. It is specifically well suited to Anxiety and Depression treatment-resistant clients and clients with entrenched, chronic personality disorders (Borderline, Anxious-Avoidant, Narcissistic, Dependent, etc.) who heretofore failed to respond adequately to traditional CBT treatment. The conceptual model of Schema therapy will be introduced, along with the Assessment and Education phase; core childhood unmet needs and the formation and identification of early maladaptive schemas; imagery and other experiential techniques; maximising the power of the therapeutic relationship to modify self-defeating patterns.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy/Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Buddhist thinking suggests that change is the natural state of things, and that peace of mind primarily comes from acceptance of this reality. This view is picked up by some third generation CBT approaches such as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, approaches which encourage us to try reducing our tendency to resist and block natural change, as well as trying to actively create change. This paradox of trying versus accepting is well captured in the famous Serenity Prayer widely used by twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

ACT was founded by Steven Hayes, based on the belief that standard CBT is too focused on gaining control of our lives, and insufficiently sceptical about the objective reality of the linguistic categories on which we base most of our conscious thinking.

MBCT was founded by Mark Williams, John Teasdale and Zindel Segal (partially under the influence of Jon Kabat Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction model), in an attempt to reduce relapse rates in clients recovering from depression.

Compassion-Focused Therapy

Research shows that the specialised affect regulation system that underpins feelings of reassurance, safeness and well-being seems to be poorly accessible in people with high levels of shame and self-criticism. The ‘threat’ affect regulation system dominates orientation to their inner and outer worlds. Accordingly people who experience high levels of shame and self-criticism may struggle to feel relieved, reassured, soothed and safe. They can have enormous difficulty in being kind to themselves, feeling self-warmth or being self-compassionate.

The healing properties of compassion have been written about for centuries. The Dalai Lama often stresses that if you want others to be happy – focus on compassion; if you want to be happy yourself – focus on compassion (Dalai Lama 1995, 2001). Compassion can be thought of as a skill that one can train in, with increasing evidence that focusing on and practicing compassion can influence neurophysiological and immune systems (Davidson 2003).

This workshop will look at the affect system that enables us to feel reassured, content and safe; the three types of emotion regulation systems; the social safeness/soothing system as a focus in the therapy; the attributes and skills of compassion and how the therapist can help the client to develop an internal compassionate relationship with themselves.

Integration Day

The Integration Day takes place in a relaxed atmosphere, where participants are given the opportunity to outline and describe how they have integrated the learning from the four core workshops and applied it to their practice.

The Integration Day will solidify learning and provide an opportunity for case discussion and supervision.

Eligibility:

Completion of the PCI College Professional Certificate in CBT or equivalent. Students currently in training will be considered, on the understanding that the CBT Third Generation Approaches Certificate qualification cannot be used until they have qualified.