COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL COACHING

Course Fee: $459 (Canadian currency)

A fully comprehensive Coaching Practitioner Certification program.

This course explores the premises of CBC, explains how to distinguish between thoughts and beliefs, shows you how to challenge faulty, maladaptive thinking and helps you to apply CBC constructs and tools. Thus, it helps to program clients’ minds for success, master tough emotions, change negative beliefs, and stop self-sabotaging actions and behaviours. Specifically this course will discuss the following: identifying, challenging and changing clients’ faulty thoughts and beliefs; understanding common cognitive errors; the role of rules in faulty, maladaptive thinking; the role of homework in CBC; the ABC model; how to use CBC constructs and tools such as a DRDT, the Downward Arrow Technique, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, Socratic Questioning and Guided Discovery, and the use of self-monitoring and graded task performance. In addition to this, we will clearly demonstrate how CBC theory, strategies and tools can be used to help clients with relationship concerns, or who are struggling with depression, with anxiety, or with feelings of anger and hostility.

You are free to commence at a time that suits your schedule and given six months to complete the course. Full tutor support is provided by a coaching mentor. Upon satisfactory completion of the course a certificate will be mailed out to you.

SYLLABUS

Module 1: Introduction to CBC

Topics Studied

  • The basic premises of CBC
  • Differentiating between thoughts and beliefs
  • How automatic thoughts develop
  • Tracking our automatic thoughts
  • Common cognitive errors
  • Schemata, or core beliefs
  • Playing by the rules
  • Introducing the ABC model
  • Correcting thought distortions
  • Distancing and decentring
  • CBC’s triadic structure

Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives

Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:

  • List common cognitive errors.
  • Describe the ABC model.
  • Distinguish between automatic thoughts and core beliefs.

Module 2: Cognitive Techniques and Skills

Topics Studied

  • CBC and the coaching relationship
  • Understanding and applying cognitive techniques
  • The Daily Record of Dysfunctional Thoughts (DRDT)
  • The Downward Arrow Technique
  • The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale
  • Socratic questioning and guided discovery

Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives

Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:

  • Identify important coaching microskills.
  • Explain how to use a DRDT.
  • Apply the Downward Arrow Technique.

Module 3: Behavioural Techniques and Skills

Topics Studied

  • Understanding and applying active listening skills
  • Teaching clients problem-solving skills
  • The value of behavioural tasks
  • The value of self-monitoring
  • The use of homework assignments
  • Reviewing homework: Blocks and failures
  • Graded Task Performance

Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives

Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:

  • Outline the steps involved in self-monitoring.
  • Explain the purpose of homework assignments.
  • Describe Graded Task Performance.

Module 4: CBC and Relationships

Topics Studied

  • A cognitive perspective on relationships
  • Mind reading in relationships
  • Misreading the signals
  • The role of expectations in relationships
  • Symbolism in relationships
  • The negative effects of prejudicial thinking
  • Changing our perspective
  • Brushing up on skills: Effective listening

Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives

Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:

  • Discuss mind reading in relationships.
  • Describe how we “misread the signals”.
  • Explain the role of symbols in relationships.

Module 5: CBC and Depression

Topics Studied

  • Depression and loss
  • Cognitive responses to loss
  • The depressive chain reaction
  • Working towards cognitive reorganisation
  • Applying CBC techniques and strategies in your work with depressed clients

Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives

Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:

  • Outline the relationship between depression and loss.
  • List common cognitive responses to loss.
  • Describe the depressive chain reaction.

Module 6: CBC, Anxiety and Hostility

Topics Studied

  • The symptoms of anxiety
  • Phobias
  • Psychosocial fears
  • Generalised anxiety disorder
  • The problem of egocentric thinking
  • The hostility sequence
  • Self-esteem, self-image and CBC
  • Self-esteem, anger and hostility

Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives

Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:

  • Explain the relationship between thinking and psychosocial fears.
  • Describe the hostility sequence.
  • Outline the relationship between self-esteem, anger and hostility.

Required reading for the course

Neenan, M., u0026amp; Palmer, S. (2012). Cognitive behavioural coaching in practice: An evidence based approach. Abingdon: Routledge.

Duration of the course

The course consists of six knowledge and practice-based learning modules (comprehensive course notes), supplemented with suggested background reading, reflection activities and submission of tutor-marked assignments. There is one marked assignment per module. Courses are offered on a part-time basis and are designed to be completed within six months. Many students prefer to complete their studies in a shorter time frame.