title: Targeting clinician concerns about exposure therapy: A pilot study comparing standard vs. enhanced training.
abstract: Owing to concerns about the safety and tolerability of exposure therapy, many clinicians deliver the treatment in an overly cautious manner, which may limit its effectiveness. Although didactic training in exposure reduces clinician concerns about the treatment to a moderate extent, improved training strategies are needed to minimize these concerns and improve exposure delivery. The present study compared the effectiveness of a standard (i.e., didactic) exposure therapy training model to an "enhanced" training paradigm encompassing strategies derived from social-cognitive theory on attitude change. Clinicians (N = 49) were assigned to one of the two training approaches. Relative to standard training, clinicians who received enhanced training showed: (a) significantly greater reductions in concerns about exposure from pre- to post-training, and (b) superior self-reported delivery of the treatment. Reduction in concerns during training mediated the effects of training condition on clinicians' self-reported exposure delivery. These findings underscore the importance of addressing clinician concerns about exposure therapy in training contexts.
authors: Rogers Memorial Hospital, 34700 Valley Road, Oconomowoc, WI, 53066, United States. Electronic address: nicholas.farrell@rogershospital.org.
authors: Nicholas R
authors: NR
authors: Farrell
authors: Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 222 Richmond Street, Providence, RI, 02903, United States.
authors: Joshua J
authors: JJ
authors: Kemp
authors: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States.
authors: Shannon M
authors: SM
authors: Blakey
authors: University of Wollongong, School of Psychology, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
authors: Johanna M
authors: JM
authors: Meyer
authors: University of Wollongong, School of Psychology, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
authors: Brett J
authors: BJ
authors: Deacon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy / Q000193:education*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013663:Teaching
keywords: Anxiety disorders; Clinician concerns; Dissemination; Exposure therapy; Training