Who attends and who benefits from CBT "self-confidence" workshops run in routine practice? A pilot study

This study examined characteristics of members of the public who self-referred and the effectiveness of psycho-educational CBT self-confidence workshops when run in routine practice.

Repeated measures were employed at pre- and post-workshop stages.

Of the 56 members of the general public who self-referred to the workshops, 70% were above the clinical cut-offs for Global Distress (CORE OM) and 86% were above the clinical cut offs for depression symptomatology (CES-D). Follow up data (n = 31) showed significant reduction in self-reported distress and depression at 4-week follow-up. A further analysis showed that those whose scores were above the clinical threshold at initial presentation benefited most but those with scores below the threshold did not seem to benefit.

This study demonstrates that psycho-educational CBT workshops attract those with high levels of distress and depression, and have potential as a cost effective means of disseminating psychological interventions.