Targeting clinician concerns about exposure therapy: A pilot study comparing standard vs. enhanced training
Section snippets
Participants
Participants (N = 49) were mental health clinicians attending an 8-h workshop on the theory and practice of exposure therapy for anxiety. The sample age ranged from 31 to 73 years (M = 51.5, SD = 10.5). The majority of participants were women (n = 32, 65.3%) and Caucasian (n = 46, 93.9%). Nearly all reported earning either a Master's degree (n = 37, 75.5%) or Ph.D. (n = 9, 18.4%). On average, the sample had 18.7 years of experience (SD = 9.6) in clinical practice. Participants endorsed the
Preliminary analyses
The conditions did not differ significantly in age, t(45) = 0.73, p = 0.47, or years of experience in the mental health profession, t(46) = 0.61, p = 0.55. Additionally, there were no significant differences between training conditions in gender, χ2 (1, n = 49) = 0.35, p = 0.56, ethnicity, χ2 (4, n = 49) = 2.91, p = 0.23, theoretical orientation, χ2 (5, n = 49) = 3.63, p = 0.60, or highest degree obtained, χ2 (3, n = 49) = 1.18, p = 0.76.
Change in concerns about and knowledge of exposure therapy
Descriptive statistics for all dependent measures at both
Discussion
Despite the recognized need to disseminate exposure therapy to clinicians in a manner that minimizes concerns about this treatment, there is little empirical guidance as to how this goal may be accomplished. The present study compared the effectiveness a theory-based exposure therapy training model to a standard training model offering didactic instruction in the theory and practice of exposure. Results supported our hypothesis that the enhanced training model would lead to greater reductions
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