Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

This course is designed to help you achieve certain aims. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• appreciate how theory, research and clinical practice inform each other in cognitive behavioural therapy, contributing to its continued development
• establish and practise a repertoire of enhanced cognitive behavioural skills
• develop the ability to apply these skills with specialist patient groups and problem areas encountered in their own places of work
• establish and maintain warm, respectful, collaborative relationships, and develop the ability to understand and manage difficulties in the alliance (including the student’s contribution) using a cognitive conceptual framework
• through consultation, identify and resolve difficulties in practice, whether arising from theoretical, practical, interpersonal, personal or ethical problems.

There are four pathways for this course representing different specialisms: Children and Adolescents, Complex Presentations, Psychological Trauma, and Psychosis and Bipolar.

Students will be expected to have access to treatment settings with regular clinical and CBT supervision where cognitive behavioural therapy skills can be practised and refined on a regular basis.

The course structure will vary according to the specialist pathway chosen. Reading and completion of written assignments will be undertaken in addition to the teaching days. Many students find it effective to set aside at least six to seven hours a week for private study.

Some of the teaching days on this course may be made available to a wider audience as publicly bookable workshops via the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre. All participants will be expected to have an appropriate level of competence to participate fully.

Children and Adolescents

Designed to equip clinicians for work with children, adolescents and their families, this pathway offers specialist supervision and teaching that covers general principles of adapting CBT for children, young people and families, as well as training on working with common disorders with young people and families. Some teaching sessions on relevant topics such as developmental trauma are shared with students on the Complex Presentations pathway.

Students are expected to carry out CBT with at least three suitable patients during the course and receive two hours of small group supervision on a bi-weekly basis.

The course begins with a four-day induction block and then bi-weekly training workshops on Thursdays and Fridays.

Complex Presentations

This specialism seeks to enable students to add to their existing knowledge of cognitive behavioural therapy, models, concepts and methods specific to more complex mental health problems (eg psychosis, complex trauma), and to models employed in the treatment of personality disorder, severe mental illness and cases with a high degree of comorbidity, and to establish and practise a repertoire of cognitive behavioural skills for use with complex presentations.

Students are expected to carry out CBT with at least three suitable patients during the course and receive two hours of small group supervision on a bi-weekly basis.

The course begins with a two-day induction block and then bi-weekly training workshops on Thursdays and Fridays.

Psychological Trauma

This innovative programme is designed to offer in-depth training and supervision in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for traumatised populations, with a strong grounding in current theories and the up-to-date evidence base.

Sixteen days of training are spread over an academic year in intensive four day teaching blocks and students are expected to complete trauma-focused CBT with at least two patients over the duration of the course.

Psychosis and Bipolar

This specialism seeks to enable students to develop a sound understanding of cognitive behavioural models of psychosis and the related evidence base; competence in engaging, assessing and developing collaborative formulations with individuals with psychotic and bipolar presentations; and competence to deliver high quality, individualised, evidence-based interventions in accordance with NICE guidance and the competence framework for work with people with psychosis and bipolar disorder (Roth & Pilling 2013).

The course comprises teaching over three terms. Term one starts with a four-day teaching block in October and is followed by one full-day per fortnight (Thursdays) during November and the beginning of December. The second two terms starts with a two-day teaching block in January followed by one full-day per fortnight (Thursday) from February to June.

Students are normally expected to carry out CBT supervision in at least three supervision settings over the course and to present at least one training event.

The course comprises 18 days, presented in five teaching blocks. It begins with a four-day induction, followed by further three-day or four-day blocks. Formal teaching comprises full or half-day workshops as a half-day Practice of Supervision (PoS) session is regularly integrated into the course.

Summative assessment requirements vary according to the specialism chosen.

Children and Adolescents

• Two clinical recordings;
• Two case reports of not more than 4000 words.

Complex Presentations

• Two clinical recordings;
• Two case reports of not more than 4000 words.

Psychological Trauma

• One assignment of not more than 2,000 words demonstrating knowledge of CBT theory;
• One clinical recording;
• One clinical assessment report of not more than 2,000 words;
• One case report of not more than 6,000 words.

Psychosis and Bipolar

• A research presentation of up to 20 minutes duration based on the theoretical content;
• One clinical recording;
• One case report of not more than 6,000 words;
• One case presentation of up to 15 minutes duration.

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. A supervisor may be found outside the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre.

Completion of the course provides access to a growing network of course graduates and to an ongoing programme of follow-up workshops on CBT and related topics. Further supervision through OCTC may also be negotiated, for example, for participants wishing to achieve accreditation by the British Association of Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies as a therapist, supervisor and/or trainer.

This award forms the foundation for further professional and clinical development, which can be pursued within the larger framework of the OCTC/University of Oxford CBT programme. The programme offers specialist training that, with further study, can lead to a PGDip in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or MSc in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. In certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information, please see our page on changes to courses.

Other courses you may wish to consider

If you're thinking about applying for this course, you may also wish to consider the courses listed below. These courses may have been suggested due to their similarity with this course, or because they are offered by the same department or faculty.

All graduate courses in medical and health sciences offered by this department

Cognitive Behavioural Studies PGCert

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy MSc

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy PGDip

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy PGCert

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy DPhil

Continuing Education DPhil

Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy PGCert

Evidence Based Health Care (Medical Statistics) MSc

Evidence Based Health Care (Systematic Reviews) MSc

Evidence-Based Health Care DPhil

Evidence-Based Health Care MSc

Experimental and Translational Therapeutics MSc

Health Research PGDip

Health Research PGCert

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy MSt

Paediatric Infectious Diseases MSc

Paediatric Infectious Diseases PGDip

Patient Safety PGCert

Psychodynamic Counselling PGCert

Psychodynamic Practice MSt

Psychodynamic Practice PGDip

Qualitative Health Research Methods PGCert

Surgical Science and Practice MSc

Teaching Evidence-Based Health Care PGCert

Translational Health Sciences MSc

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Entry requirements