PYMTHA-Therapy for Childhood Anxiety

Module Provider: Psychology
Number of credits: 30 [15 ECTS credits]
Level:7
Terms in which taught: Spring / Summer / Autumn module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites: Co-requisites: For CBT students PYMBAS and PYMTHD must be passed. For PT students, PYMPAR must be passed.
Co-requisites: PYMTHD Therapy for Childhood Depression and PYMBAS Basic Skills
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Miss Phillippa Burton
Email: phillippa.burton@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:
This module will cover the evidence base for CBT, assessment and treatment strategies for anxiety disorders in children and young people. They will cover anxiety disorders generally, and the specific anxiety disorders: separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia, panic disorder, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

Aims:

To develop critical knowledge of the theoretical and research literature of CBT for anxiety disorders in children and young people

To develop practical competency in evidence-based CBT for anxiety disorders in children and young people.



The learning objectives are for students to:

• Understand the evidence base for CBT, assessment and treatment strategies for anxiety disorders in children and young people. This will cover anxiety disorders generally, and the specific anxiety disorders: separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia, panic disorder, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).


• Understand that the evidence base for CBT for children and young people with anxiety disorders refers to both anxiety disorders generally and to specific anxiety disorders. 


• Be familiar with NICE Guidance for anxiety disorders such as GAD and panic disorder (CG 22, updated by CG113), for PTSD (CG 026), and for OCD and body dysmorphic disorder (CG 031) and be able to deliver the specific interventions.


• Be able to deliver the interventions with the most substantial evidence base for CBT for GAD, separation anxiety and social phobia in children and young people which comes from trials of the Coping Cat manual (Kendall & Hedtke, 2006) and related manuals, with samples of children and young people with one or more varied diagnoses of anxiety disorders. 

Assessable learning outcomes:

At the end of the course students will be able to demonstrate the following:

1. A critical understanding of the phenomenology, diagnostic classifications and epidemiological characteristics of anxiety disorders in children and young people – assessed via written assignment and presentation.


2. A critical understanding of clinical research literature on CBT for anxiety disorders in children and young people (clinical trials and outcome studies)- assessed via written assignment and presentation.


3. Assessing whether a child or young person with an anxiety disorder is suitable for CBT - assessed via written assignment, presentation or practical skills assessment.


4. Explaining the principles and general procedures of CBT for anxiety disorders to children, young people and parents/guardians responsible for informed consent to treatment – assessed via feedback from young person/parent on experience of therapy.


5. Demonstrate evidence of understanding the points of view of children, young people, and parents/guardians responsible for informed consent to treatment, regarding anxiety problems in the child or young person and how they impact on their lives; and an understanding of how these points of view may vary with the age of the child or young person- assessed via feedback from young person/parent on experience of therapy.


6. Constructing maintenance and developmental conceptualisations of cases of anxiety disorders in children and young people – assessed via written assignment and presentation.


7. Demonstrate evidence of understanding the factors relevant to whether and to what extent parents/guardians are involved in treatment sessions (such as whether they are responsible for informed consent, wishes of the family members, whether parental behavioural may be involved in maintenance cycles, and whether parental assistance in therapy or homework may be helpful) - assessed via feedback from young person/parent on experience of therapy.


8. Developing CBT treatment plans for a range of anxiety disorders in children and young people – assessed via written assignment and presentation.


9. Demonstrate evidence of critical evaluation of theoretical evidence based interventions integrated within and guiding therapy with anxiety disorders in children and young people – assessed via written assignment and presentation.


10. Collaboratively deriving an anxiety model with a client – assessed via practical skills assessment.


11. Ability to work with children and young people to elicit and evaluate key cognitions and images in anxiety disorders - assessed via practical skills assessment.


12. Constructing, carrying out and evaluating exposure exercises and behavioural experiments - assessed via practical skills assessment.


13. Capacity for self-direction in tackling and solving basic therapeutic problems with anxiety disorders in children and young people – assessed via written assignment.


14. Working with co-morbidity and other complexities in presenting problems with support of appropriate supervisor – assessed via supervisor’s report.


15. Ability to deal with ending therapy and planning for long term maintenance of gains with evidence of relapse prevention plan – assessed via case-report.


16. Begin practicing as “scientist practitioners” continuing to advance their knowledge and understanding to develop new skills in working with anxiety problems in children and young people – assessed via written assignment, presentation and report of clinical outcomes.


17. Insightful knowledge of CBT and an ability to identify their own values and beliefs in working with anxiety and the applicability of CBT to their own lives – assessed via written assignment.


18. Making best use of supervision for anxiety disorders on the course and evidence of making use of and continuing to learn from ongoing continuing professional development – assessed via supervisor’s report.

Additional outcomes:

• Students will gain confidence in the assessment and treatment of young people with anxiety.


• Academically, students will develop skills in critical appraisal of research and develop theory-practice links.


• Reflective practice will be integrated as part of all training within the module.

Outline content:

The module will comprise of in-class teaching, clinical skills practice/supervised clinical practice, supervision in-service and independent study. Teaching and supervision will be provided by experienced and suitably trained therapists (e.g. supervisors will fulfil BABCP therapist accreditation criteria).

Note that certain teaching is mandatory (highlighted on timetable) for all students. Any student that misses a mandatory teaching session must attend a termly top-up meeting as scheduled in the timetable.

Clinical Supervision

• Each student will have clinical supervision weekly in a group of no more than 6 with occasional individual sessions in place of the group sessions.


• Recorded material from all training cases should be included at some point during a significant majority of supervision sessions.


• At the end of the course when clinical work has been completed the supervisor will be asked to complete a pro-forma assessment form and indicate whether or not a student has reached a satisfactory level of clinical practice.

The teaching will be supplemented by an equivalent number of hours of clinical practice in the workplace under supervision of an experienced practitioner and supervisor.

Global context:

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The aims of this module will be achieved through a series of workshops, which will incorporate lectures, role-plays, and small group discussions. These will last from 9.30 to 4.30 p.m. Unless otherwise stated, all teaching days comprise of 50% clinical skills practice. In addition, they will be supplemented by e-learning material and experience of assessment and treatment of clients within the workplace. Teaching will be provided by course tutors, with some national and international experts where appropriate. 

Contact hours:

• Teaching contact hours: average minimum of 50 hours; the total minimum teaching contact hours (including clinical skills workshops) summed across all course modules is over 200 hours.


• Supervision contact hours: average minimum of 11.5 hours in University and 11.5 hours in the workplace; the total minimum supervision contact hours summed across all course modules is 70 hours.

< li>Total contact hours for this module will be a minimum of 300, to include lectures and clinical skills, university and work-based supervision, clinical practice hours and guided independent study.

Days will be split between in class theoretical teaching and clinical simulation, and in the workplace undertaking practice-based learning and supervision.

For the purposes of the table below

Seminars = University supervision

Lectures = Teaching & Clinical skills

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

There are three  parts to this assessment.

1. Written assignment 1 of a child/adolescent with an anxiety disorder.


2. A practical skills assessment of a treatment session with a child/adolescent with an anxiety disorder, marked using a standardised rating scale. The recording is rated by the assessor and self-rated by the student using the same standardised measure of clinical competence. The recording must be of a different client to those submitted for PYMBAS and PYMTHD and must be linked to written assignment 1 (item 1 above).


3. Oral assessment and presentation of a child/adolescent with a different anxiety disorder to the written assignment (1) and practical skills assessment (2) above.

These 3 are all equally weighted. 

All assessments are assessed using a standardised measure and must pass at 50% with no autofail criteria.

Formative assessment methods:

Penalties for late submission:

The following penalties will be applied to coursework which is submitted after the deadline for submission:

• where the piece of work is submitted up to one calendar week after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for the piece of work will be deducted from the mark;


• where the piece of work is submitted more than one calendar week after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

50% in each piece of assessed work for 1, 2 and 3..

A minimum of 80% face to face attendance is required for each module and attendance at all identified mandatory teaching (detailed on timetable); this is evidenced in the Portfolio assessment which sits within PYMTHD. If, for any reason, a student does not complete the required face to face attendance for the module, they will be required to attend teaching on the same topic with another cohort.

Reassessment arrangements:

Students who do not obtain the required pass mark in the assessed work will be given the opportunity to resubmit, on one further occasion, any individual assessment that has been failed. The re-sit grade cannot exceed 50%.

Completion of studies is dependent on employment within a CAMHS partnership of the Central and South CYP MH Collaborative and ongoing access to a CYP MH appropriate clinical caseload. Students must successfully pass all modules of the training programme. Therefore a student’s studies may be terminated if they are no longer working in a partnership service, no longer have access to an ongoing CYP MH appropriate caseload, or fail coursework at second attempt.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: 

Last updated: 30 March 2023