Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Skills

Certificate in CBT skills: 60 credits at level 1 (FHEQ level 4), or Post-graduate Certificate in Continuing Professional Development: 60 credits at Level 4 (FHEQ level 7)

These one year part-time Certificate courses provide students with an opportunity to acquire both the practical experience and the theoretical understanding required to use CBT skills with confidence and competence. The course is offered at undergraduate level for those who have no previous experience of Higher Education and at post graduate level for those who already hold a Higher Education qualification.

Please be aware that completion of this course does not confer professional status, although it does provide a good preparation for Diploma level training.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has risen to prominence as the therapy of choice for many common psychological problems. It provides the foundation work in many self–help approaches and its influence can also be seen beyond the field of counselling and therapy.

Central to the model is a focus on helping people to examine and reflect on their thoughts, feelings and behaviours and have more control and greater choice in their lives. The cognitive behavioural approach is also the basis of many programmes used to help people change their behaviour and life styles and is used within fields such as management, criminal justice and the health and caring professions.

This new course will cover some of the recent developments within the CBT field including the use of Mindfulness-based approaches an area with an increasing body of research within CBT. Motivational Interviewing is also explored with its focus on the process of change which makes it a valuable addition to the skills associated with work based on the cognitive behavioural approach and Professional Development.


"The course programme is pioneering a long overdue rapprochement between the cognitive-behavioural and person-centred approaches. This raises the  exciting prospect of students learning the best of both traditions and bringing  them together in a new form of interpersonally informed and empirically founded  psychological therapy.."

Frank Wills Best selling co-author of our recommended key texts: 'Cognitive Behaviour  Therapy: An Introduction' and 'Cognitive Therapy: Transforming the Image'

Course content

This course attracts people with a wide range of interests including many from the helping professions including counsellors, substance misuse, advice and learning support workers. The course will help you to develop your skills and understanding of the ways in which the cognitive behavioural approach can be used to enhance your work. The aim of the course is to enable participants to understand individuals’ responses to their life circumstances in terms of the CBT model. The focus is on the skills needed to work with people to help them recognise the thinking distortions that are causing and maintaining distress and the behavioural patterns which reinforce it. You will learn how to formulate problems and practice a wide range of CBT techniques and evaluate the effectiveness of your practice.

The course aims to provide participants with:

A clear understanding of the theoretical model which underpins the Cognitive Behavioural Approach and the rationale for its use
An understanding of the conditions necessary for a supportive and collaborative helping relationship in which CBT can be used effectively
An understanding of the formulation of cognitive processes and maintenance cycles and behaviours
Familiarity with a range of techniques used in CBT and their appropriate use
Opportunities to practice and develop the use of CBT skills and techniques
An understanding of the use of behavioural experiments and their purpose in CBT An understanding of the use of the Cognitive Behavioural approach in a variety of settings
A good foundation for professional therapist training at Post-graduate Diploma level

There are three main areas of emphasis, which are inter-related throughout the course so that sessions will contain elements of each:

Theory and Professional Issues

An overview of the theoretical roots of Cognitive Behavioural theory
Identifying and differentiating between thoughts, feelings and behavioural and exploring their relationship to the maintenance of problems
The relationship between behavioural and cognitions
Three levels of cognition: negative automatic thoughts, assumptions and rules and schemas
The role of formulation and conceptualisation
Collaborative empiricism
An understanding of the application of the CBT model in student’s own work setting

CBT-based Helping Skills

Beginning and ending CBT sessions
Integrating CBT skills into the students’ model of working
Structuring CBT sessions
Setting agendas
Developing and maintaining the collaborative relationships
Developing cognitive empathy
Explaining the CBT approach to clients
Problem listing and prioritising
Goal setting
Cost benefit analysis
Setting homework
Use of thought records
Socratic questioning and guided discovery
Identifying and challenging cognitive distortions
Identifying core beliefs and dysfunctional assumptions
Developing and using longitudinal formulations
Using CBT in working with people with depression, anxiety and low self esteem
Action planning
Activity scheduling
CBT Model for panic attacks
Collaborative planning of behavioural experiments
Reviewing and evaluating behavioural experiments
Relapse prevention

Personal Development and Reflection on Practice

Developing the skills of a reflective practitioner
Identifying and enhancing interpersonal styles of communicating and relating
Experiential group work
Giving and receiving feedback constructively
Keeping a reflective learning journal
Applying skills and theory to self
Using personal concerns as material for skills practice
Identifying strengths and areas for Development

Click here for the latest Postgraduate Certificate in CBT Skills course handbook [PDF, 289KB]

Click here for the latest Undergraduate Certificate in CBT Skills course handbook [PDF, 271 KB]

Coursework and Assessment

Participants will be required to keep a learning journal, complete formative written and practical assignments, participate in group discussion, presentations and complete homework tasks.

Provisional course dates for 2012/13

For BOTH undergraduate and postgraduate students, you have a choice of two courses (please note, dates are subject to change):

2 November 2012 - 19 July 2013
Fridays 12.30pm - 4.00pm unless otherwise stated

November: 2 (10am-4pm), 9, 16, 23, 30
December: 7, 14
January: 11, 18, 25
February 1, 8, 15, 22 (10am-4pm)
March: 1, 8, 15, 22
April: 4, 12, 19, 26
May: 3, 10, 17, 24 (10am-4pm), 31 (10am-4pm)
June: 8 (Saturday, 10am-4pm), 13 (Saturday, 10am-4pm), 29 (Saturday 10am-4pm)
July: 13 (Saturday, 10am-4pm), 19

24 November 2012 - 20 July 2013
Saturdays 10am- 4pm

November: 24
December: 1, 8
January: 12, 19, 26
February: 2, 9
March: 2, 9, 16
April: 20, 27
May: 4, 11, 18, 25
June: 8, 15, 29
July: 13, 20

Entry requirements

Prospective students will need to demonstrate the following in their application and personal statements:

Evidence of previous study of Counselling Skills. This will ordinarily be demonstrated by satisfactorily completing UEA’s Introduction to Counselling Skills or suitable alternative course*

Evidence of good understanding of the theory of CBT. This will ordinarily be demonstrated by satisfactorily completing UEA’s Introduction to CBT or suitable alternative course*. Alternative qualifications may also be considered; in these cases, documentary evidence of courses completed etc may be required.

* Please contact admissions at edu.cce.admiss@uea.ac.uk or on 01603 591515 for details of suitable alternative courses

Some experience of a helping role in which counselling skills are used

That you have opportunities to use your developing counselling skills during the course (for example, in a voluntary placement or professional role)

That you have sufficient time for private study; students should expect to spend at least 8 hours a week for the January-July Certificate and 6 hours a week for the November-July Certificate courses. This study time will include guided reading, keeping a reflective learning journal, using counselling skills in work or voluntary work and completing coursework assignments.

Following an application for this course a tutor may contact you to discuss your application.

Course fees for 2012/13

Undergraduate certificate: For UK/EU students, £4500; for International students, £5850

Postgraduate certificate: For UK/EU students, £1665; for International students, £3967

See below for details of which course to apply for.

If you are not sure whether you are a UK/EU student or an International student, please email edu.cce.admiss@uea.ac.uk. We will send you a Fee Status form to complete.

Fees can be paid in instalments by arrangement with our Finance office. You should contact them after you have been invoiced, usually just after the start of the course.

Which course shall I apply for?

We recommend all students apply for the Postgraduate Certificate. If you have concerns about your ability to succeed academically at postgraduate level, however, you can apply for the undergraduate certificate, but please contact the admissions office for advice first: 01603 591515 or email edu.cce.admiss@uea.ac.uk.

Whilst both certificates receive the same teaching time and content, assessment is slightly different (see above, 'Course content').

Applications

Apply online here for a place on the Postgraduate Certificate in CBT Skills.

If you wish to apply for a place on the Undergraduate Certificate in Counselling Skills, please contact the admissions team first (details below).

For any questions about the course or application process, please email the admissions team at edu.cce.admiss@uea.ac.uk or telephone (01603) 591515.

UEA

Courses in Counselling Skills and CBT for Professional Development