Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) papers are designed for health professionals who wish to add CBT to their existing skills for understanding and treating common mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and psychotic disorders.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based, psychologically informed talking therapy. It helps people solve life problems and view situations realistically.
CBT focuses on the way thoughts, actions, feelings and body sensations interact. It emphasises how a person's thinking affects their mood, physiology and behaviour. Based on an ever-evolving formulation and conceptualisation of a person's problems, it emphasises a collaborative and strong therapeutic alliance.
The University of Otago, Wellington offers two postgraduate qualifications in CBT; a Certificate, which provides foundation knowledge and skills in CBT, and a Diploma, which builds on this with more advanced application.
The postgraduate courses in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) are designed to support health professionals to develop skills that enable them to use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in their workplace. The primary focus for the course is on using CBT with adults, including young adults 18 years and above.
The Certificate course establishes a firm practical and theoretical knowledge base, showing how CBT is used as a framework for assessing and gaining understanding of a patient's psychological distress, and then formulating and implementing an intervention based on that conceptualisation.
It also covers applications of CBT to common mental disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, substance use disorders, and the use of CBT with psychotic disorders. There is a strong emphasis on culturally responsive CBT with input from speakers with expertise from within and beyond the University.
The Diploma course builds on the CBT Certificate-level training to ensure mental health and addiction practitioners extend their existing CBT assessment, conceptualisation and treatment skills for a broad range of complex presentations, including:
During the academic year, Certificate and Diploma course participants must attend three one-week teaching blocks, held in March, June and August respectively. These are taught in Wellington.
Additional theoretical work and assignments are based around the implementation of CBT in participants' usual clinical casework. An integral part of the course is individual supervision by clinical psychologists with expertise in CBT.
Additional online tutorials (held via Zoom) will be offered in the months between teaching weeks.
There is a final exam at the end of October.
The courses are taught by clinical psychologists who have considerable experience in CBT.
CBT applicants need to meet all of the following criteria:
Admission to the course will be on the basis of academic performance, references, curriculum vitae and verification process.
The course fees are fully funded by Te Pou. Acceptance to the course secures funding, with no further application required.
Applications usually open early September each year.
We will be in touch with the outcome of your application by mid-December.
See the full list of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (COBE) papers.
Explore your study options further. Refer to enrolment information found on the following qualification pages.
Email cbt.uow@otago.ac.nz
Dr Emily Cooney
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Course Director
Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Clinical Psychologist
Department of Psychological Medicine
University of Otago, Wellington
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Regulations on this page are taken from the 2024 Calendar and supplementary material.
