Introduction to CBT Course – 2026

Part 1: Assessment & Formulation – 15 & 16 April 2026

Part 1 of the Introduction to CBT course gives participants a grounding in the fundamental skills of using CBT. The workshops incorporates a brief introduction to basic CBT theory, but the main aim is to teach participants the CBT skills of assessing clients and producing CBT formulations, or case conceptualisations, of their problems. The workshops are focused on practical clinical skills, and therefore will involve role-playing and small group work. Participants will follow through the different stages of assessment, finally producing a CBT formulation for the ‘client’.

Part 2: Basic Therapeutic Skills – 05 & 06 May 2026

Part 2 builds on the Assessment and Formulation workshops and provides an introduction to some of the basic strategies used in CBT. These include agenda setting, identifying and testing negative thoughts, using guided discovery (“Socratic questioning”), goal setting, and the use of behavioural experiments. As with Part 1, the workshops involves role-playing, in order to give participants hands-on experience and feedback.

Part 3: Working with Depression – 03 & 04 June 2026

Part 3 aims to develop and refine some of the basic skills learned in Parts 1 and 2 and integrate them in the context of working with clients with depression. Particular issues addressed will include engendering hope, countering withdrawal and inactivity, and dealing with negative automatic thoughts and suicidal ideation. The workshops will provide plenty of opportunity to practise therapy skills derived from the cognitive model of depression.

Part 4: Working with Common Problems – 29 & 30 June 2026

Day 1: Panic (am); Health Anxiety (pm)

Day 2: OCD (am); Social Anxiety (pm)

Part 4 builds on Parts 1 & 2 and aim to give participants an introduction to specific CBT models of anxiety disorders and ways of working with some problems commonly encountered in clinical practice. The workshops will be skills based and give participants opportunities to practice techniques relevant to the specific problems.

This course is suitable for health professionals from any discipline who want a basic introduction to CBT skills. It has been successfully run for nurses, doctors, trainee psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers and counsellors.