Professional Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Format: Live-online Lecturer Led Classes (Virtual-Classroom) via Zoom

Duration: 1 Evening Every Week 6pm to 9pm

Online Live Attendance: 30 Hours

Self-Directed Learning: 30 Hours

Total CPD Credits: 60 Credits

Assessment: Formative & Summative Assessment

Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

Course Accreditation:

Professional Development Consortium
Provider of Excellence
CPD Standards Office
Irish Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (ICPA)
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Key Learning Outcomes:

Participants will learn to:

Understand and apply the core principles of CBT and the cognitive model
Conduct comprehensive CBT assessments and case formulations
Deliver structured, goal-oriented CBT interventions for anxiety, depression, and related conditions
Implement CBT techniques such as thought records, behavioural experiments, graded exposure, and cognitive restructuring
Integrate third-wave CBT strategies including mindfulness, compassion, and schema work
Adapt CBT for use with adolescents, trauma survivors, and clients with comorbidities
Maintain ethical standards and reflect on clinical competence and professional boundaries
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Course Outline – 10 Modules

Module 1: Foundations of CBT

Theoretical roots: Beck, Ellis, Meichenbaum
The CBT model: interaction between thoughts, behaviours, emotions, and physiology
Role of core beliefs, intermediate assumptions, and automatic thoughts
Module 2: CBT Assessment and Case Formulation

Structuring initial assessments
Collaborative goal-setting and agenda building
Introduction to the 5-Area CBT formulation model
Risk and safeguarding considerations
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Module 3: Core Cognitive Techniques

Socratic questioning and guided discovery
Identifying and challenging negative automatic thoughts
Introduction to thought records and belief restructuring
Module 4: Behavioural Strategies in CBT

Behavioural activation for depression
Exposure hierarchies and avoidance reduction
Behavioural experiments for anxiety and phobias
Module 5: Working with Anxiety and Depression

CBT protocols for panic disorder, GAD, social anxiety, and depression
Addressing safety behaviours, rumination, and worry loops
Cognitive restructuring in mood disorders
Module 6: CBT for Trauma and Intrusive Thoughts

Adapting CBT for PTSD and complex trauma
Managing intrusive thoughts and cognitive intrusions
Psychoeducation and grounding strategies
Module 7: Third-Wave CBT Approaches

Introduction to Schema Therapy, ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), and CFT
Integrating mindfulness and values-based action
Building psychological flexibility
Module 8: CBT with Adolescents and Special Populations

Developmental adaptations of CBT
Working with young people and clients with neurodiversity
CBT in group settings and brief interventions
Module 9: Relapse Prevention and Long-Term Maintenance

Developing relapse prevention plans
Strengthening metacognition and self-monitoring
Empowering clients through self-help tools
Module 10: Ethics, Supervision, and Reflective Practice

Boundaries, scope of practice, and informed consent in CBT
Use of supervision and reflective practice models
Self-evaluation and clinical competence in CBT integration