As part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (tCBT) is focussing on an issue central to the remit of the journal – namely how can we develop and effectively disseminate CBT and also how we can support the delivery of this group of therapies for individuals with mental illness or psychological distress. To mark this week, Cambridge University Press is making five key recent articles freely available for the whole of October 2018.

Access to CBT for varying populations

The first article draws attention to the issue of access and how we ensure CBT is available to all groups of adults experiencing psychological problems, rather than just the groups of individuals often used in research trials. Tsimopoulou et al (2018) use a case series design to examine whether individuals with learning disabilities can learn the prerequisite skills to be able to benefit from CBT.

The second free article looks at the experience of using interpreters to deliver CBT to adults with common mental health problems such as anxiety disorders and depression. To ensure that all individuals have access to evidence-based interventions for these problems, staff typically need to work with interpreters, something in which therapists can have variable experience and skill, as well as varying levels of confidence. This article is a fascinating read regarding the experiences of practitioners and can help them to reflect and learn from others.

Innovative ways to deliver CBT

The third free article draws attention to the possibility that newer delivery methods can help greater numbers of people to access evidence-based therapies and importantly, how beliefs and attitudes could potentially hinder this.

Support structures and processes needed to maximise the effective delivery of CBT

The final two free articles draw attention to a process that is essential to the effective delivery of evidence-based therapies for people with mental health problems – clinical supervision. Reiser and Milne (2018) share their improved competence scale for CBT supervision, a new version of their previous scale which is often used to maintain fidelity to the principles of effective supervision. Simpson-Southward, Waller & Hardy (2018) have shared findings on their research looking at how the beliefs and characteristics of the supervisor can impact on the supervision delivered – a topic of great relevance to all supervisors and supervisees.

I hope that readers who missed these articles when first published find them stimulating and thought-provoking. To keep informed of all new tCBT articles and receive links to free read-only versions of the articles follow @theCBTjournal on Twitter.

tCBT is interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed, publishing high-quality materials aimed primarily at cognitive behavioural practitioners in the helping and teaching professions. Visit cambridge.org/cbt to learn more.

In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week and World Mental Health Day, Cambridge University Press is giving away free journal articles and book chapters related to mental health and wellbeing for the full month of October 2018. Click here to learn more.