Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions

A radical new approach to the treatment of common mental health problems is emerging. Until recently, the only form of evidence-based psychological intervention available for many people with depression and anxiety was traditional one-to-one therapy - but most people had difficulty accessing it. The choice was either long waiting lists in public health systems (if therapy was available), or private practitioners for those people who could afford it. The situation is fast changing. Now, low intensity CBT interventions, in a variety of forms, are becoming widely available. Over the next decade, they will revolutionize mental health care, enabling vastly increased numbers of people with depression and anxiety access to brief, cost-effective, evidence-based psychological interventions.

The Oxford Guide to Low intensity CBT interventions is the first book to provide a comprehensive guide to low intensity CBT interventions. It brings together researchers and clinicians from around the world who have led the way in developing evidence-based low intensity CBT treatments. It charts the plethora of ways that low intensity CBT can be delivered, including self-help books and internet-based CBT programs supported by practitioners using phone, email, SMS, or face-to-face contact; group treatments; advice clinics; brief GP interventions; as well as stand alone internet-based treatment and prevention programs. These new treatments require new forms of service delivery, new ways of communicating, new forms of training and supervision, and development of new workforces. They involve changing systems and routine practice, and adapting interventions to specific community contexts.

This is a state-of-the art practical handbook. It is essential reading for any psychologist, nurse, social worker, occupational therapist, psychiatrist, GP, physician, counselor or low intensity practitioner wishing to acquire the skills necessary for modern mental health care practice. It provides an easy-to-read guide to creating effective change for health service managers, public servants and politicians wanting to understand and anticipate future directions in health service provision.

Only rarely do books emerge that signify a paradigm shift in health care practice, treatments and services. The Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions is a landmark book, denoting the start of a new era in mental health care.

James Bennett-Levy, University of Sydney and Southern Cross University, Australia

David Richards, University of Exeter, UK

Paul Farrand, University of Exeter, UK

Helen Christensen, The Australian National University, Australia

Kathy Griffiths, The Australian National University, Australia

David Kavanagh, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Britt Klein, Swinburne University, Australia

Mark A. Lau, University of British Columbia, Canada


Judy Proudfoot, University of New South Wales, Australia

Lee Ritterband, University of Virginia, USA

Chris Williams, University of Glasgow, UK

Jim White, STEPS, UK