Workshop 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Melanie Fennell

Uniting head and heart: The power of behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy

Melanie Fennell, James Bennett-Levy and Martina Mueller, Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre, UK

 

Behavioural experiments have long been recognised as a powerful agent for change in cognitive therapy. This workshop addressed the process by which cognition and behaviour interact to maintain problems and prevent unhelpful perspectives from being updated in the light of new experience.
 
Key Objectives:
1) Describe the role of behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy
2) Understand how behavioural experiments maximise opportunities for experiential learning
3) Design behavioural experiments to target the content and process of cognition, at the level of thoughts, assumptions and beliefs
4) Design, carry out and evaluate a personal behavioural experiment and reflect on its implications

Training Modalities: The workshop will be highly interactive, with opportunities for role play, personal experience and discussion. It is aimed at people with a background in cognitive therapy, who wish to enhance their skills in designing and implementing behavioural experiments. It will highlight the value of therapist assisted, in-session experiments in encouraging new learning.

The workshop leaders are all experienced cognitive therapy practitioners with a reputation for offering high quality training and supervision. Melanie Fennell has worked in research groups contributing to the development of psychological treatments for depression and anxiety disorders, and has written widely on cognitive therapy for low self-esteem. James Bennett-Levy has a special interest in therapist development and in experiential approaches to cognitive therapy training. Martina Mueller has expertise in the treatment of complex PTSD.  All three contributed to writing and editing The Oxford Guide to Behavioural Experiments in Cognitive Therapy (2004, Oxford University Press, Oxford).
 
References: Bennett-Levy, J., Butler, G., Fennell, M.J.V., Hackmann, A., Mueller, M. and Westbrook, D. (Eds.) (2004).  The Oxford Guide to Behavioural Experiments in Cognitive Therapy.  Oxford University Press, Oxford