(PS10-95) Determinants of Delivering Cognitive-behavioral Therapies Before and After Attending Training Courses

Abstract Text: Providing training opportunities to clinicians is an important part of disseminating effective treatments. A body of evidence suggests that clinicians who provide cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) are more likely to apply research findings in their practices. While there is a considerable amount of research on the potential effects of training reported in the literature, reports from Asian countries and those including a follow-up design are relatively limited. Here, we aimed to examine how CBT training courses change the determinants of delivering CBT in Japan.

This observational study employed a repeated measures design. The training courses were provided either on-site or on demand. The number of participants ranged between roughly 50 and 500. Ten training courses provided between June 2021 and December 2024 were included in this study. Registration for the training courses started two months before the workshop. Data collection occurred before and immediately after the training. The primary outcome is the levels of intention of delivering CBT, and the secondary outcomes are the levels of attitude, perceived norm, and behavior control. These factors are considered determinants of delivering CBT as conceptualized in the theory of planned behavior. This study was conducted after obtaining ethical approval from an institutional research board.

A total of 1286 attendees consented to participate in this study and answered the baseline measures. Of these, 990 (77%) completed the measures after the training courses. Most participants were licensed professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, and psychiatric social workers. There were ten training courses, including general courses in CBT, Unified Protocol, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Recovery-oriented Cognitive Therapy. Multilevel analysis revealed increases in the levels of intention, b = 0.48, 95% CI[0.29, 0.67], d = 0.14, attitude, b = 0.79, 95% CI [0.56, 1.02], d = 0.18, perceived norm, b = 0.94, 95% CI[0.78, 1.11], d = 0.32, and perceived behavioral control, b = 0.60, 95% CI[0.42, 0.78], d = 0.17.

This study found that clinicians' intentions, as well as other determinants of CBT delivery, increased after training courses. The effect sizes in these increases revealed the limited impact of passive learning. Although more intensive training opportunities are required to enhance CBT-related skills, these training courses may create opportunities for clinicians to familiarize themselves with a type of CBT. Limitations of this study include biases from the attrition and self-reported measures of delivering CBT. The findings gain insight into current evidence regarding the effects of CBT training in Japan. Policy-makers may identify the strengths and weaknesses of unidirectional training and implement different training types to disseminate CBT.