Training and Clinical Impact of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Workshops in a Teaching Hospital in North India

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an empirically supported psychotherapy with applications across psychiatric disorders. The demand for nonpharmacological interventions is increasing in the developing world. Unfortunately, existing resources are unable to cater to treatment and training needs. METHODS: The aim of the current paper is to provide a description of the format of a series of CBT training workshops and their clinical impact in a psychiatric tertiary care center in north India. Over a period of nine years, nine training workshops were conducted. CBT concepts and skills sets were inculcated in faculty and student participants, using teaching strategies based on adult learning techniques. RESULTS: The workshops resulted in a tremendous increase in the number of patients taken up for CBT. While therapeutic and training outcomes were not systematically assessed, the naturalistic outcomes (60 out of 85 patients completed therapy; improvement reported by >90% of the completers) are encouraging and showcase capacity building by means of CBT training in these workshops. CONCLUSIONS: CBT training workshops are an effective way to impart CBT skills and, therefore, to build CBT expertise in a resource-poor setting.