Innovative Methods to Assess Psychotherapy Practices in CBT and CPT: The imAPP Study

The Purpose:

The goal of the study is to develop and evaluate methods to efficiently understand what occurs in CBT interventions, using materials that are generated during routine clinical care. Once we have more efficient, scalable and acceptable tools, we can use them for purposes such as training and supporting the delivery of cognitive behavioral therapies in routine care settings. We seek to identify good alternatives to "gold standard" of reviewing and coding recordings of therapy sessions, which can be time- and labor-intensive, and not always acceptable to clinicians and their clients. We are asking therapists and their clients to help us evaluate and compare different strategies, and will be asking for their feedback on these strategies.

Who Can Participate?

We welcome participation of any treatment provider (clinicians, including interns, postdocs, and practicum students) who uses cognitive behavioral strategies and who use CBT/CPT worksheets as a part of their practice. It could be a good opportunity for trainees to receive feedback based on session recordings and work samples. Decisions about whether, how, and when to use CBT or CPT strategies are entirely up to the clinicians and their patients—we are simply observing what occurs in session. Both patients and therapists will be consented to participate.

Clients will be compensated for the time spent participating in the study, and clinicians will receive supportive feedback and continuing education credits, and, depending on their employers' regulations, compensation for their participation.