Skills Class 10 - Improving Outcomes for Treatment-resistant Chronic Depression with Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy

The goals of this skills class are to describe the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) approach for persistent depression, introduce how it is implemented, and demonstrate the application of CBASP with a clinical role play. While there is much evidence showing that standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for depression is effective for many individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (e.g., Cuijpers et al., 2016), outcomes have not been as strong for individual Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD; Spijker et al., 2013). CBASP was the first treatment specifically designed for chronic depression (McCullough, Schramm, & Penberthy, 2015), and studies have demonstrated it can effectively treat these clients (e.g., Wiersma et al., 2014). Despite effective treatments such as CBASP existing, many PDD clients struggle for years before they find CBASP, if they ever find it at all. This skills class aims to increase the reach of CBASP to clients who need it most, by introducing it to CBT providers. Presenters are two experts in CBASP who were trained directly by the treatment developer Dr. James McCullough. They will provide an overview of the treatment, how it works, and how it differs from the traditional CBT approach. Presenters will then introduce the basic treatment interventions and demonstrate the application of the interventions in a clinical role play.