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On the application form for Accreditation, Criterion Three - Specialist Behavioural and/or Cognitive Training - section 3f: Supervised Clinical Practice in Behavioural and/or Cognitive Psychotherapy in Training states:
The Minimum Training Standards require that psychotherapists will have conducted 200 hours of CBP clinical practice, appropriately supervised during training, and will have treated a minimum of 8 clients, covering at least 3 different problem types. Each client should have been seen from assessment to completion, and for at least 5 sessions (although most should have been significantly longer). Of these cases, 4 will have been written up and assessed as case studies (2000 – 4000 words), and 3 will have been closely supervised using live (in-vivo, video, audio) assessment.
Normally, where the main C/BP Training has taken place in a formal academic setting, the assessment and evaluation of these written submissions is by the course tutors and award boards of the institution. Some applicants however, may find that their formal training has included insufficient numbers of equivalent academic case studies.
In such cases, the applicant is required to supplement their formal training by completing and submitting evidence of further equivalent academic case studies as part of their application.
This document establishes standards and criteria for the assessment of written case studies where the assessment takes place outside the regulations of an academic body.
When selecting an assessor to mark an academic case study for the purposes of BABCP Accreditation, the assessor should be Fully Accredited with the BABCP, or be a Cognitive and/or Behavioural Psychotherapist who meets the BABCP criteria for Accreditation. In addition, they should be experienced at working within post graduate academic settings, providing assessments for post-graduate level academic work, and with recent experience as a Lecturer or Tutor on an academic post-graduate CBP training course or equivalent. The assessor may, however, currently be independent of an academic institution.
Most Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist professional positions, both in the NHS and other organisations are graded in remuneration and status terms at a professional level, suggesting a requirement of post-holders to be trained to identifiable standards.
Most C/BP training is also at post-graduate Diploma or Masters Degree level. Therefore those assessing written case studies should set a general standard of contents, writing style, layout, structure, graphics and presentation that is commensurate with post-graduate academic work.
In addition to the above, because CBP practice emphasises evidence-based treatment, the written case studies should demonstrate a professional ability to not only show a theoretical and research- based rationale for a particular approach to a client’s treatment, but also show a knowledge of alternative CBP methods and present an argument as to why these were not used.
These criteria are provided as guidance for assessors of written case studies for the purposes of practitioner accreditation. All areas need to be adequately addressed and given equal weighting. It is strongly recommended that assessors give robust feedback when marking case studies and that they look for a reflective element with a view to reinforcing new learning, as would be done if the report were marked as part of an academic university programme.