In this clip from a recent 3-day workshop at Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dr. Aaron Beck discusses adapting CBT sessions within time constraints. Brief CBT interventions have been shown to be effective in the treatment of a variety of disorders. Dr. Beck stresses the importance of maintaining the structural components of CBT in shortened sessions. http://www.beckinstitute.org/cbt-workshops

According to a recent study published in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, insight (illness awareness) may be a predictive variable in cognitive behavior therapy for psychosis (CBTp). In the current study, researchers assessed forty-four psychotic patients before and following a CBTp intervention. They discovered that insight correlated to improvements in psychotic symptoms among patients with auditory and visual hallucinations and ideas of reference.  Insight did not correlate to other symptom types (e.g., paranoid delusions, mind reading, and thought insertion), however. These findings suggest that symptom type moderates the relationship between insight and outcome in CBTp and that CBTp may be particularly effective with certain patients with specific symptomatology.

Kuller, A.M., Libben, M.R., Rosmarin, D.H., & Björgvinsson T. (2012). Does symptom type moderate the relationship between insight and outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis? A preliminary investigation. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 1-12. Doi: 10.1080/16506073.2012.676670

Dr. Aaron Beck discusses the future of Cognitive Therapy at Beck Institute’s Cognitive Behavior Therapy Workshop in Spanish. According to Dr. Beck, the theory of Cognitive Therapy rests on the science of human behavior and human psychopathology. As the scientific basis expands (e.g., neuroscience, psychopathology, social psychology, cognitive psychology, etc.), so too will Cognitive Therapy.  www.beckinstitute.org/cbt-workshops.

According to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, cognitive therapy (CT) may reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms among individuals who develop psychosis. Participants (n = 288) identified as high-risk for developing a psychotic disorder were randomly assigned to receive either six months of CT plus mental state monitoring or mental state monitoring only. While CT did not significantly reduce the transition to psychosis, it did reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms in high-risk individuals. Further, the overall prevalence of transition to psychosis (8%) was lower than expected, and most participants in both groups improved over time. These findings impart an optimistic message to patients at risk for psychosis: Patients can improve with intervention, and CT may help with recovery.

Morrison, A. P., Stewart, S. L. K., French, P., Parker, S., Byrne, R., Birchwood, M., Brunet, K., … Dunn, G. (2012). Early detection and intervention evaluation for people at risk of psychosis: Multisite randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal (online), 344, 7852.

Dr. Judith Beck greeting participants at Beck Institute’s first ever CBT for Schizophrenia Workshop.

Dr. Beck discusses the many different applications of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)—and states that he never would have expected CBT to be utilized in the treatment of so many different conditions. For example, CBT can be useful in the treatment of patients with epilepsy; it can reduce the likelihood of additional heart attacks among cardiac patients; and it can help with cancer-related depression. www.beckinstitute.org/cbt-workshops

In its efforts to encourage the growth and dissemination of CBT throughout the world, the Beck Institute has expanded its online presence across social media and other platforms. To keep you (our readers) informed of our most recent updates, we’ve decided to implement a monthly summary including: blogs, CBT articles, and CBT trainings, and other updates for our readers. Please use the following links to go back and read what you may have missed from April 2012:

• On the Beck Institute website:
• Beck Institute 2012 Scholarship Competition Winners
• CBT Training at Beck Institute
• April 2-4, 2012, Cognitive Behavior Therapy Workshop in Spanish
• April 16-18, 2012, Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Children and Adolescents Workshop
• Beck Diet Solution Workshops
• April 27, 2012, Beck Diet Solution Workshop for Individuals Who Work With Dieters
• Beck Institute Blog Posts:
• CBT Reduces Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Postpartum Women
• CBT Plus Medical Treatment is Most Effective for IBS
• CBT Plus Exercise Training Improves the Physical Fitness of Fibromyalgia Patients
• SPARX: A New and Effective Computerized, CBT Self-Help Intervention for Depression
• Culturally Adaptive CBT for Traumatized Refugees and Ethnic Minority Patients
• Beck Institute Newsletter
• Cognitive Therapy for Schizophrenia
• Beck Diet Solution Blog
• A Peek inside a Diet Session – Overeating Pizza
• Ask the Diet Program Coordinator: Sugar Cravings
• Beck Diet Solution Newsletter
• Entitlement Eating
• Dr. Judith Beck on Huffington Post
• An Open Letter to Carnie Wilson: What You Need to Know to Keep the Weight Off
• Beck Institute Youtube Videos
• Dr. Judith Beck describes the Ideal Weight
• Terapia Cognitiva Conductal  – Negative Core Beliefs
• Terapia Cognitiva Conductal  – Negative Core Beliefs (Part 2)
• Terapia Cognitiva Conductal – Relationship Between Neuroscience and Cognitive Therapy
• Beck Institute SoundCloud
• Competency in Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• CBT for Schizophrenia
• Dr. Aaron Beck’s Current Research
• Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• CBT Studies
• Cognitive reactivity, dysfunctional attitudes, and depressive relapse and recurrence in cognitive therapy responders
• What cognitive behavioral techniques do therapists report using when delivering cognitive behavioral therapy for the eating disorders?
• Cognitive-behavioural therapy for adolescents with bulimic symptomatology: the acceptability and effectiveness of internet-based delivery
• Internet-delivered or mailed self-help treatment for insomnia?: a randomized waiting-list controlled trial
• Changes in negative beliefs following three brief programs for facilitating recovery after assault
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Comparison of Symptom Change in Adults Receiving Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or Applied Relaxation
• Adjunctive couple and family intervention for patients with anxiety disorders
• Telephone Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Subthreshold Depression and Presenteeism in Workplace: A Randomized Controlled Trial
• Articles
• Interview with Judith Beck in Samfunn Psykologi 

See what you missed in March

An article in the current issue of Transcultural Psychiatry (April 2012) describes how cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can be adapted for treating PTSD among traumatized refugees and ethnic minority patients. Culturally adaptive CBT (CA-CBT) is a promising, culturally sensitive therapy technique that promotes emotional and psychological flexibility. In the current article, the authors describe 12 key components of culturally sensitive treatment for traumatized refugees and ethnic minorities. This treatment model which provides patients with new, adaptive processing modes may improve care among specific cultural groups.

Hinton, D.E, Rivera, E.I. Hofmann, S.G., Barlow, D.H., & Otto, M.W. (2012) Adapting CBT for traumatized refugees and ethnic minority patients: Examples from culturally adapted CBT (CA-CBT). Transcultural Psychiatry, 49(2) 340-365. Doi: 10.1177/1363461512441595

Dr. Aaron Beck answers questions from participants at Beck Institute’s first ever CBT Workshop, conducted entirely in Spanish. In this clip, Dr. Beck discusses the relationship between neuroscience and cognitive therapy. Studies show that people with depression are hypersensitive to negative stimuli at both a conscious and subconscious level. This hypersensitivity tends to disappear when patients receive cognitive and behavioral interventions to overcome their depression. www.beckinstitute.org/cbt-workshops.

According to a recent randomized control trial published in the British Medical Journal, a new computerized cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) intervention, SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts), may reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents seeking treatment as much or more than treatment as usual. SPARX, which is similar in presentation to interactive fantasy avatar computer games, provides CBT interventions (e.g., psychoeducation, activity scheduling, behavioral activation, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, and homework, etc.)  and sets and monitors real-life challenges. (See video demonstration below.)

In the current study, 187 adolescents (ages 12 to 19) with depressive symptoms participated in either the SPARX intervention or face-to-face-treatment as usual, and were followed up for three months. Results showed that symptom reduction among participants in the SPARX group was as great as the usual care group. Furthermore, recovery rates for the SPARX group were higher than usual care when participants completed at least four homework modules. These findings suggest that SPARX is, potentially, a less expensive and more accessible treatment alternative for depressed adolescents in primary care settings where the demand for treatment is often unmet.

Merry, S. N., Stasiak, K., Shepherd, M., Frampton, C., Fleming, T., & Lucassen, M. F. (2012). The effectiveness of SPARX, a computerised self help intervention for adolescents seeking help for depression: randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. British Medical Journal, doi: 10.1136/bmj.e2598.