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Building capacity to provide innovative interventions for early psychosis in mental health professionals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2020

S. Poli
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy Service of Clinical Psychology, I.R.C.C.S. ‘Sacro Cuore – Don Calabria’ Hospital, Via Don A. Sempreboni, 5, 37024, Negrar, Verona, Italy
M. Ruggeri*
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy Unit of Psychiatry, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
C. Bonetto
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
K. De Santi
Affiliation:
Unit of Psychiatry, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
E. Miglietta
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
S. Petterlini
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
A. Alpi
Affiliation:
A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca’Granda, Programma 2000, Via Livigno 3, 20128, Milan, Italy
L. Bislenghi
Affiliation:
A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca’Granda, Programma 2000, Via Livigno 3, 20128, Milan, Italy
T. Bolis
Affiliation:
A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca’Granda, Programma 2000, Via Livigno 3, 20128, Milan, Italy
S. Fascendini
Affiliation:
A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca’Granda, Programma 2000, Via Livigno 3, 20128, Milan, Italy
G. Patelli
Affiliation:
A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca’Granda, Programma 2000, Via Livigno 3, 20128, Milan, Italy
D. Cristofalo
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
F. Albasini
Affiliation:
Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy
A. Meneghelli
Affiliation:
A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca’Granda, Programma 2000, Via Livigno 3, 20128, Milan, Italy
*
*Corresponding author. Email: mirella.ruggeri@univr.it
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Abstract

Despite international guidelines, cognitive behavioural therapy for early psychosis (CBTep) is still under-used in daily clinical practice, mainly due to the lack of specific skills among mental health professionals. The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a CBTep training course and to investigate the impact of trainees’ variables on the level of skills acquisition. An intensive and graded CBTep training programme consisting of 112 hours of plenary lectures, 30 hours of group supervision and 3 months of practical training was offered to mental health professionals of 65 Italian community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs). CBT expert psychologists were used as the comparison group. Participants underwent pre-planned exams to test the level of skills acquisition and were requested to complete a satisfaction survey. The vast majority of participants (93%) completed the training with medium–high evaluation scores and reported to be highly satisfied with the course. CMHCs staff members achieved high scores in the examinations and no major differences between them and CBT expert psychologists were found in most of the final exam scores. Our results support the feasibility and the efficacy of the training to build specific CBTep capacity in a large cohort of professionals working in Italian Generalist Mental Health Services.

Key learning aims

  1. (1) To understand the capacity building of a short training programme in CBT for early psychosis dedicated to community mental health professionals.

  2. (2) To consider the optimal characteristics of a CBT training programme for early psychosis.

  3. (3) To reflect on the feasibility of a CBT training programme for early psychosis in the context of Italian Community Mental Health Services.

Information

Type
Original Research
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2020
Figure 0

Table 1. Training course content

Figure 1

Table 2. Socio-demographic characteristics of participants

Figure 2

Table 3. Total score obtained by the participants at the end of training (%)

Figure 3

Table 4. Examination scores (ongoing examination and final examination) of the whole sample and comparisons between CMHC staff members and previously trained CBT psychologists

Figure 4

Figure 1. Theoretical capacity building after training.11Original scores have been standardised according to a 1-100 scale

Figure 5

Table 5. Supervisor judgement of the whole sample and comparisons between CMHC staff members and of previously trained CBT psychologists

Figure 6

Figure 2. Clinical CBT capacity building (supervisor judgements, mean values) after the training.

Figure 7

Table 6. Association between examination scores (ongoing examination and final examination) and socio-demographic participant characteristics (CMHC staff sample)

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