Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic Approaches (Top-Up)
BSc (Hons)

In this specialist module, you will choose one of the contemporary approaches within CBT to focus upon, such as compassion focused therapy (CFT) or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). You will study the approach in some depth and consider the contribution that it has made to our understanding of human problems and distress. Distinctive to this module is the chance to use small learning groups in order to choose and then use some of the relevant skills and knowledge. You will also have the opportunity to create a plan by which you could go on to integrate your use of the skills and insights within your current professional practice.

Module learning outcomes

On completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Critically analyse the contribution that one area of contemporary CBT approaches has made to our understanding of human problems
2. Critically apply skills and theoretical insights from an area of contemporary CBT approaches into their practice

Module content

During this module you will all briefly study all the contemporary approaches currently available within the module. You will also choose the approach you will focus upon and will both study this in greater depth and then practice with aspects of the approach in videoed sessions with peers, in triads. You will offer each other feedback and also peer supervise for this practice.

The approaches in this module are likely to include CFT and MBCT. Each approach will be presented in terms of (at least):

• The main concepts, insights and ideas
• The main aspects available for you to use and practise using
• Appropriate beginnings and endings
• Evidence which supports the approach
• Cautions and limitations 
• Ethical and legal considerations
• Planning, monitoring and evaluating use of the approach within your current practice

You will also further develop your focus on yourself, your origins, your attitudes and values, prejudices and biases that influence how you work with different people and groups. You will continue to consider different aspects of your self-awareness, your personal development and reflection, and you will also make sense of integrative helping practice.

You will address what you need to do to ensure you can create healthy boundaries (with others), self-care strategies, and also have adequate forms of mentoring, clinical supervision, personal therapy and continuous professional development, dependent upon your practice area. In addition, you will consider ethical principles and dilemmas and also ruptures to and repairing a helping relationship.

The module attracts a wide range of professionals involved in the provision and delivery of a global, changing and expanding health and social care agenda. One of the ways things are changing is with increased integration. Attempts at integrating practices may bring together various kinds of approaches and services related to diagnosis, therapy, treatment, care, rehabilitation and health promotion. Hence, it is possible that ‘integration can lead to improved services in relation to ones such as; access, quality, user satisfaction and efficiency’ (WHO, 2020). It is advisable to study this module within the first year of the programme as it sets the foundation for developing integrative practices within practice. This is important whether working within therapeutic practice (at micro levels), or integrating care pathways with other practitioner groups and organisations (at more macro levels).

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyse person centred integrative care and practice
2. Critically evaluate contemporary approaches towards, and barriers to, integrative working within own sphere of practice
3. Reflect on the self-development needed to support integrative working practices.

Module content

During this module you will have the opportunity to work with other learners in order to both learn and collaborate on an assignment. There is a focus on concepts and theory in areas such as: person centred integrative care and practice; ethical (principles and dilemmas); legal duties and responsibilities; professional and organisational contexts; power, communication, subjects, disciplines and the organisation of labour. A wide range of factors will be analysed that support and hinder integrated working such as: philosophical, power based, social, cultural, financial, procedural, legal, relationship and interpersonal factors. You will assess your own working or workplace and will consider and present ideas towards change. There is a focus on self, origins, attitudes and values, prejudices and biases that influence working with different people and groups. Different aspects of ethical principles and codes will be considered as well as personal development, reflection and self-awareness. Also considered will be what needs to be done to ensure the following can be created: healthy boundaries (with others); self-care strategies; to include adequate forms of mentoring, clinical supervision, personal therapy and continuous professional development dependent upon practice area.

In studying this module you will learn some important components of what it is to be a practitioner who can integrate knowledge and skills from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches into your current practice. In short, you are becoming a CBT informed helper who can make safe decisions about when to work using knowledge and skills from CBT and when not to. You will learn about how CBT practitioners make sense of and also the use of therapeutic relationships and skills. In addition, you will analyse in interviewing and assessment skills. You will then go on to determine how you may integrate this knowledge and skills into your current professional practice.

Module learning outcomes

On completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Evaluate your participation in self-development and peer supervision activities
2. Identify how the learned skills and insights from CBT approaches can be integrated safely within your current practice
3. Critically analyse the use of relational and interviewing skills in work with others that is informed by CBT approaches

Module content

During this module you will work with other learners in order to explore the importance of the therapeutic relationship within CBT approaches. You will discover the crucial role that your own self-awareness and self-development has in this. You will learn about the different skills (informed by a CBT approach) that may be employed in forming and developing therapeutic relationships and also in interviewing, assessing and formulating with people. In addition, you will have the chance to work with peers to critically reflect on your own practice and assess how the above ideas and skills maybe appropriately and safely integrated within your own current practice.

In studying this module you will learn about how all people can experience a range of different forms and degrees of emotional and psychological distress and disorder. There is an even wider range of historically, politically and socially, and culturally informed ways of making sense of this experience. You will study a range of the issues and debates in how we have, and now do, diagnose and then treat people. In addition, the module will also enable you to critically reflect on your work role and your workplace and on how you and your colleagues can work with people who experience distress and disorder in a facilitating way.

Module learning outcomes

On completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Critically analyse a range of different ways of making sense of complex forms of emotional, physical and psychological distress
2. Critically evaluate the possible causes of, and treatments for people who experience specific distress, disorders or psychopathologies
3. Critically reflect upon your role, when using insights from CBT approaches to therapeutically support people who are considered to have a mental disorder

Module content

During this module you will work with learners from different health, nursing and social care courses in order to study a range of what we may currently term mental and emotional distress or disorder. You will pay particular attention to a range of historical and cultural ways in which humans have identified and categorised these areas of experience, and reasons why we may have done so. You will study mainstream approaches such as DSM (APA 2013) and ICD (WHO 2010), alongside ideas from critical psychology and anti-psychiatry. Within these, you will consider issues around power, diversity, equality and personal (as opposed to just clinical) recovery. You will analyse a wide range of ideas about what may cause different disorders and distress and an even wider range of possible treatments, medications and therapies that may treat, help and support people in different ways. Finally, you will make sense of what you have learnt in terms of a specific workplace setting. You will focus on information sharing, risk assessment and management, and also referral and signposting.

Innovation and creativity in practice can help to improve the quality of care but such change and improvement cannot be made without a thorough understanding of evidence and research. This module will enable you to understand and critically discuss the importance of evidence and research in your practice environment. It will enable you to consider the evidence used in your practice and how you decide upon this. It will also allow you to consider the process of research in the generation of evidence. Frameworks that underpin the processes of research and evidence-based practice will be presented and you will begin to apply them to a topic of your choice, that relates to your own area of practice. This module will develop skills in critical appraisal of research and evidence directly related to your area of practice. This ethos forms the basis of the level 6 module: Research and evidence base for practice. The content of the following module 'Research and evidence in practice' combined with this module will provide you with the knowledge and structure of a research and/or service improvement/evaluative framework that you may employ to improve quality of care and services.

Module learning outcomes

1. Critically evaluate a body of evidence or research in relation to your chosen environment

Module content

This module will build on your knowledge of evidence and research-based practice. In doing this it will enable you to conduct a short desk based project that requires you to critically appraise research literature or wider evidence that directly informs your practice. Through this first module and the following module, you will follow either an evidence-based practice framework or a research framework.

By the end of this module you will have covered:

• The role and importance of research and evidence-based practice
• The types of evidence and approaches research
• How evidence-based practice and research are inter-related
• Debates surrounding the implementation of evidence and research, eg legal, ethical and professional issues
• Methods to critically appraise research and/or evidence-based practice
• The evidence-based practice cycle

This module will guide you through the process of writing a research proposal or plan for a practice-based investigation. You will not conduct primary research or service evaluation in your area of practice but studying this module will enable you to synthesise theoretical concepts, research and evidence-based practice processes on a topic that is directly relevant to your practice. This will form the basis of the skills and experience required to conduct primary research/service evaluation projects to improve health and social care/practice. The content of the preceding module 'Preparing for research and evidence-based practice' combined with this module will provide you with the knowledge and structure of a research and/or service improvement/evaluative framework that you may employ to improve quality of care and services.

Module learning outcomes

1. Synthesise knowledge of the processes of evidence or research into your environment
2. Critically reflect on the process of research or evidence generation, identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for your own development

Module content

You will build on the chosen pathway from the preceding module 'Preparing for research and evidence-based practice'.

You will study one of two pathways through guided activity (although both will be available to everyone).

Building on the evidence-based practice cycle:

• Ask
• Acquire
• Appraise
• Analyse
• Apply

The research process:

• Define and describe a problem
• Develop a plan to gather data
• Implement the plan
• Analyse the data
• Conclude and disseminate findings