Training
Registration closes @12 noon on 07.05.25
CBT offers effective treatment for a range of psychological problems using a set of empirically founded principles. Survivors of childhood trauma often suffer post-traumatic problems that encompass a range of difficulties and so CBT is well placed to help survivors of developmental adversity. Our 18-session programme does just that. It brings together general CBT principles and specific CBT techniques to create a treatment approach that helps people with a shared history even though they might have different presenting problems. Although the programme was originally intended for group use, we have also found it appropriate for use with individuals and in innovative “pair therapy” (two patients working together). Many survivors benefit from sharing their difficulties and can find group and pair work particularly powerful in de-stigmatizing their experiences and in defusing their sense of isolation.
Our Oxford programme was cited in the Guardian newspaper (13th July 2015) and a female group member wrote: “We found it easy to be compassionate with each other, and then it became easier to extend compassion to ourselves. For all of us, I think, it was the first time we felt truly understood. Truly cared for and supported. Those women saved me.”
However we need to think carefully about:
· Who will benefit from a group experience or from the pair work or from one-to-one therapy? We will be reflecting on these options over the day.
· How do we adapt conventional CBT to meet the needs of group members or pairs?
This workshop will help you decide what therapeutic setting is relevant for your patients and, how to help them get the most out of the experience. You will be taken through the 18-session programme, which has been developed and refined in Oxford for over 25 years.
The programme comprises:
· Socialising participants
· Formulating problems
· Creating safety: groundwork
· Dealing with blame, anger, speaking out
· Dealing with relationships
· Relapse management and going solo
A manual of the programme is included in the cost of the workshop.
Note: This workshop assumes basic knowledge of CBT practice and some knowledge of working with survivors of developmental adversity. We recommend our OCTC workshop: AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA: THE NEURO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPACT OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE & NEGLECT (12 May 2025) for those who would benefit from a refresher.
New: Workshop recording is now available to attendees
By attending this workshop I understand I am giving my consent for the workshop to be video recorded and for this video recording to be available to people attending the workshop live and for it to be sold separately, for the amount of time determined by OCTC and outlined in the purchase agreement. My name, if displayed onscreen, and my image will make up part of this recording. Recordings are the property of OCTC and making copies of these recordings or sharing login details is not permitted. Please do not reveal details which may compromise the anonymity of clients.
The recording will be available to view for a period of three months.
Presenter
Helen Kennerley, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Helen Kennerley is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and a founder member of the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre, where she was for many years Director of the postgraduate courses in Advanced Cognitive Therapy Studies and the MSc in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. She is currently the lead for the OCTC / University of Oxford Certificate in Supervision and Training. She is an experienced clinician now specialising in childhood trauma. She has made valuable contributions to the field of cognitive therapy through her popular workshops and her writings. Amongst other publications, she is the author of Overcoming Anxiety and co-author of An Introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, both of which have been highly commended by the British Medical Association. In 2002, Helen was also voted one of the most influential female cognitive therapists in Britain by BABCP members.
Additional Information
Cancellation & changes policy
If you cancel more than 14 days prior to your booked event, we will refund your fee minus a charge of 15% to cover our administration costs. We regret that cancellations 14 days or less before the booked event cannot be refunded or changed/transferred.
If you wish to change/transfer your booking after confirmation we will do our best to accommodate you if you notify us 14 days prior to your booked event, and if there is space to do so. However there will be an administration charge of £15 per change/transfer.
Confidentiality
Workshops often contain clinical material. This is always anonymised as far as possible but delegates are none the less reminded to respect confidentiality.
All that is discussed in your therapy sessions will be treated as confidential, with the following exceptions.
We are required to seek supervision by our professional body (The British Psychological Society or equivalent) as a means of ensuring good practice. We will usually inform your referrer of your progress, but the details that we disclose will be discussed with you. We do have a statutory obligation to break confidentiality under rare circumstances, namely, if we believe that a client is of danger to themselves or to others (under the Mental Health Act, 2001) or if we believe that a child is at actual risk of physical or sexual abuse (The Children Act, Section 47, 1989).
If we felt that it would be helpful to request additional medical, social or legal information, we could only do this with your consent. Similarly, should another medical, social or legal professional request information from us, we would not release this without your consent.
Disclaimer
OCTC makes every effort to ensure that this programme is delivered as advertised. However, should a presenter have to cancel, we will endeavour to find another suitable presenter. We will inform attendees as soon as is reasonably practical and, if requested, will offer a refund. In the rare event that we are unable to substitute a presenter, we may cancel a workshop and refund payments already made by attendees. OCTC will not refund travel and accommodation costs that attendees may incur.
All the workshops in this programme are carried out by highly experienced therapists and trainers. The individual presenter is responsible for the content of the workshop and any views expressed do not necessarily represent those of OCTC.
Although highly informative, none of the open workshops or workshop series confer a formal qualification or assurance of competence in CBT (or a specialist area of CBT) since we are unable to assess attendee competency within the training event. However, credit and award-bearing courses that lead to formal qualifications are offered by OCTC in conjunction with the University of Oxford. More about these courses is available on our website www.octc.uk
Levels of competence
Before booking a place on a workshop, please ensure that it is pitched at the appropriate level of competence for you. The guide to levels is as follows:
Basic
Basic workshops are for people from a variety of backgrounds, who have at least one year’s clinical experience. Cognitive behavioural knowledge is not necessary for attendance at these workshops, though in practice, a number of attendees will have some skills in the area, and are refreshing/updating their knowledge.
Intermediate
Intermediate workshops are directed towards people who already have knowledge of CBT, and experience in using cognitive formulations and treatment methods – for instance, they are able to identify and test automatic thoughts, and design behavioural experiments. Most participants will be using CBT as part of their clinical practice, and may still be acquiring new CBT skills.
Advanced
Advanced courses are directed towards those professionals who use CBT routinely as part of their clinical practice. They have probably undertaken a significant number of training courses and/or workshops, and use a broad range of cognitive behavioural strategies to work with a range of presentations at varying levels of complexity.
Making reservations
Bookings can only be considered confirmed after we have received your online registration or application form and payment (or invoicing details, including an official purchase order document).
The registration closing date for each workshop is shown on the workshop description page. Please note that no applications received after this deadline will be permitted.
If you are booking a workshop place for someone else, you must complete your own details in the billing field, but ENTER THE WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS NAME/ADDRESS in the shipping field. If you wish to order items using a paper order form instead of online, you can view or download an order form in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. Once downloaded, print it out, fill it in, and send off with your payment [cheque made payable to OXFORD HEALTH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST] to the address on the form.
Refreshments
The cost of the workshops includes hot drinks on arrival, mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but not usually lunch unless stated. However, for workshops that do include lunch, if you have any special dietary requirements please let us know at the time of application.
Accessibility requirements
We welcome applications from diverse backgrounds. If you have any particular needs, please contact us
prior to booking.