Rinad Beidas, Ph.D.

Shipley Award Recipient - 2008

 

Rinad’s project was a randomized controlled trial of training to examine dissemination processes relating to training of community clinicians from an ecological perspective (Beidas, Edmunds, Marcus & Kendall, in review). This study compared three therapist training conditions (i.e., routine training, computer training, and augmented training) in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for child anxiety. Participants (115 therapists) were randomly assigned to training condition and, following training, were invited to participate in weekly consultation. All three training conditions were somewhat effective in improving therapist adherence, skill, and knowledge. Contrary to predictions, the augmented training did not confer additional benefits with regard to therapist outcomes when compared to the computer or routine training. Participants were most satisfied with the in-person conditions. Approximately one-third of participants were trained to criterion following the training workshop and the addition of consultation for 3 months brought two-thirds of participants to criterion. Number of consultation hours attended significantly predicted therapist training outcomes. This finding demonstrates the importance of consultation when training therapists.