@Article{info:doi/10.2196/jmir.7864,
author="Fairburn, Christopher G
and Allen, Elizabeth
and Bailey-Straebler, Suzanne
and O'Connor, Marianne E
and Cooper, Zafra",
title="Scaling Up Psychological Treatments: A Countrywide Test of the Online Training of Therapists",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2017",
month="Jun",
day="16",
volume="19",
number="6",
pages="e214",
keywords="psychotherapy; training; dissemination; Internet; eating disorders; cognitive behavior therapy",
abstract="Background: A major barrier to the widespread dissemination of psychological treatments is the way that therapists are trained. The current method is not scalable. Objective: Our objective was to conduct a proof-of-concept study of Web-centered training, a scalable online method for training therapists. Methods: The Irish Health Service Executive identified mental health professionals across the country whom it wanted to be trained in a specific psychological treatment for eating disorders. These therapists were given access to a Web-centered training program in transdiagnostic cognitive behavior therapy for eating disorders. The training was accompanied by a scalable form of support consisting of brief encouraging telephone calls from a nonspecialist. The trainee therapists completed a validated measure of therapist competence before and after the training. Results: Of 102 therapists who embarked upon the training program, 86 (84.3{\%}) completed it. There was a substantial increase in their competence scores following the training (mean difference 5.84, 95{\%} Cl --6.62 to --5.05; P<.001) with 42.5{\%} (34/80) scoring above a predetermined cut-point indicative of a good level of competence. Conclusions: Web-centered training proved feasible and acceptable and resulted in a marked increase in therapist competence scores. If these findings are replicated, Web-centered training would provide a means of simultaneously training large numbers of geographically dispersed trainees at low cost, thereby overcoming a major obstacle to the widespread dissemination of psychological treatments. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/jmir.7864",
url="http://www.jmir.org/2017/6/e214/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.7864",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28623184"
}