title: Cognitive behavioral therapy in practice: therapist perceptions of techniques, outcome measures, practitioner qualifications, and relation to research.
abstract: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has a strong evidence base for several psychiatric disorders, however, it may be argued that currently there is no overall agreement on what counts as 'CBT'. One reason is that CBT is commonly perceived as encompassing a broad range of treatments, from purely cognitive to purely behavioral, making it difficult to arrive at a clear definition. The purpose of the present study was to explore practicing therapists' perceptions of CBT. Three hundred fifty members of two multi-disciplinary interest groups for CBT in Sweden participated. Mean age was 46 years, 68% were females, 63% psychologists and mean number of years of professional experience was 12 years. Participants completed a web-based survey including items covering various aspects of CBT practice. Overall, therapist perceptions of the extent to which different treatment techniques and procedures were consistent with CBT were in line with current evidence-based CBT protocols and practice guidelines, as were therapists' application of the techniques and procedures in their own practice. A majority of participants (78%) agreed that quality of life or level of functioning were the most important outcome measures for evaluating treatment success. Eighty percent of therapists believed that training in CBT at a basic level was a requirement for practicing CBT. There was a medium size Spearman correlation of rs=.46 between the perceived importance of research to practice and the extent to which participants kept themselves updated on research. Implications for training, quality assurance, and the effectiveness of CBT in clinical practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm 171 77 , Sweden.|b Centre for Psychiatric Research , Stockholm Health Care Services, Liljeholmstorget 7 B, Stockholm 117 63 , Sweden.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3415-7511
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bohman
authors.affiliation: c Psykologpartners Private Practice, S:t Larsgatan 30, Linköping 582 24 , Sweden.|d Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning , Linköping University , Linköping 581 83 , Sweden.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm 171 77 , Sweden.|b Centre for Psychiatric Research , Stockholm Health Care Services, Liljeholmstorget 7 B, Stockholm 117 63 , Sweden.|d Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning , Linköping University , Linköping 581 83 , Sweden.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4753-6745
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andersson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Cognitive behavioral therapy; evidence-based practice; psychotherapist