Practice in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy: Clinical Experience, Supervision and Case Formulation

During the course the students will learn and practice basic skills of cognitive-behavior therapy: conceptualization, aims, strategies and techniques and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. They will participate actively as reflective group in individual CBT of patients in Academic Center of Psychotherapy. Moreover, they will observe the process of psychotherapy through one-way mirror, give feedback to therapist and patient and take part in supervision of patients after sessions. Finally, they will write a case study about the patient they co-conducted.

There are several aims of the classes:

i. to provide students with the first experience of being in the reflective group,

ii. to model skills important for the CBT,

iii. to develop knowledge of psychotherapy process. There will be 6 students enrolled in the class.

Following sessions with patients there will be one-hour supervision. The direct contact with one patient will be the basis for formulation of a case study, which is, nowadays, one of the standard criteria to become a certified psychotherapist.

Students will focus on:

Collection of a structured interview

Conceptualization and initial diagnosis

Psycho-education of the patient

Presentation of the ABC model

Application of the self-observation diary

Application of the mood scale (monitoring)

Introduction to the Socratic dialogue method

Analysis of automatic thoughts

Application of the downward arrow method for collecting core beliefs

Working with beliefs

Relaxation methods