An investigation of the accuracy of therapists' self-assessment of cognitive-behaviour therapy skills.
BACKGROUND
The impact of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions in routine clinical practice depends on those interventions being delivered competently. Since direct observation or independent assessment of therapists' skills are typically limited in routine clinical practice, the assessment of competence, and thus of the need for further training and/or supervision to improve competence, rests mainly on the individual therapist's self-assessment.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the accuracy of therapists' self-assessment of their CBT competence in relation to supervisors' assessments.


METHODS
Self-ratings on the Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS; Young & Beck, 1980; 1988) from two groups of trainees on established cognitive therapy training courses (n= 64) were compared to supervisors' ratings of the same therapy sessions.


RESULTS
There were moderate correlations between self- and supervisor assessments, and the previously reported over-estimation of CBT skills (Brosan, Reynolds, & Moore, 2008) was not replicated in the current sample. Instead, these groups showed under-estimation of their skills compared to supervisors' ratings, with the less-competent trainees' ratings not being significantly different from their supervisors' and the more competent trainees' ratings being significantly lower than those of their supervisors.


CONCLUSIONS
Several possible explanations of the results are discussed and recommendations for ensuring the integrity of CBT delivered in routine clinical practice are made.
Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK. freda.mcmanus@psych.ox.ac.uk
Freda
F
McManus
Sarah
S
Rakovshik
Helen
H
Kennerley
Melanie
M
Fennell
David
D
Westbrook
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000193:education*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012647:Self-Assessment