BABCP | British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies > Membership > Research requests > Andrew Grimmer (April 2024)
Close

Call for participants

A qualitative inquiry into CBT practitioners’ understanding of the meaning, context, and development of therapeutic competence across the professional lifespan

Andrew Grimmer

I am a CBT practitioner, supervisor and lecturer who is studying for a PhD at Middlesex University. I am carrying out qualitative research to understand better what UK-based CBT practitioners understand by competence in CBT at different stages of their career.

I have already interviewed trainee and recently qualified CBT practitioners, and I am now recruiting for two further studies which concern experienced and late career CBT practitioners respectively.

To take part in Study 2 on experienced CBT practitioners, participants will:
Be a UK-based CBT practitioner in current practice
Be BABCP accredited or eligible for accreditation
Have between five- and fifteen-years’ post-CBT qualification experience

To take part in Study 3 on late career, senior CBT practitioners, participants will:
Be a UK-based CBT practitioner either in current practice or retired
Be, or have been, BABCP accredited or eligible for accreditation
Have at least twenty years post-CBT qualification experience.

Each study has two parts, first a brief reflective exercise to help participants think about what competence in CBT means to them, followed by a semi-structured individual interview lasting about an hour.

The interview will ask participants what they have learned from their reflective exercise and then expand on the meaning of competence. It will be conducted remotely via Zoom, audio recorded, and then transcribed prior to analysis. All contributions are confidential, and participant anonymity will be protected, for example by choosing a pseudonym.

The results will be used in my doctoral dissertation. They may also be presented at conferences, published, for example in journal articles, or presented more informally through workshops or newsletters.

The research has been reviewed and approved by Middlesex University’s Research Ethics Committee. There are several potential benefits to taking part: 1) participants might like to be part of a study that publicises practitioners’ personal understanding of competence to complement the more common focus on competency frameworks and the CTS-R; 2) taking part will give participants a chance to reflect on what competence means to them, which in turn may help inform their practice; and 3) Mark Addis, BABCP’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, confirmed that, if participants write a reflective statement about how taking part in the research contributes to their CBT practice, it could count towards their continuing professional development (CPD) requirements. While positive benefits cannot be guaranteed, the trainee and recently qualified practitioners who have already taken part were very positive about the experience, saying they found it helpful and thought-provoking.

If you think you might like to take part in this study, or you’d like more information, please contact me, Andrew Grimmer, at ag1619@live.mdx.ac.uk or phone me on 0780 609 3773, without obligation. If you would like to take part, or to read the full Participant Information with Consent sheet, you can find it here: https://forms.office.com/e/ZDFMN8twRw

Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you think might be interested or to re-post it. I am very grateful for your time and interest,

Andrew Grimmer
HCPC registered counselling psychologist
BABCP accredited cognitive behavioural psychotherapist

Study end date: 31 December 2024


0330 320 0851
babcp@babcp.com
Registered office
Imperial House, Hornby Street, Bury, Greater Manchester  BL9 5BN
Privacy Notice
Privacy Policy
0330 320 0851
Registered charity No. 1098704   A company limited by guarantee No. 4839948   Registered in England and Wales   VAT reg No. 732 5316 53