The Effects of Case Conceptualization Training Over Time and Its Relationship to Practitioner Attitudes Towards Evidence-Based Practice

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to examine the
effects of a standardized case conceptualization training workshop on 104 psychotherapy
practitioners recruited from the community. A secondary purpose was to examine the
relationship between participants’ attitudes about evidence-based practice and the effects
of the training. Participants attended two 3-hour training workshops, which taught the
integrative case conceptualization model developed by Sperry (2010b). Pre- and postintervention
case conceptualization skills were assessed using the Case Conceptualization
Evaluation Form (CCEF) 2.0, an updated version of the instrument used in previous
studies. Additionally, participants’ views about case conceptualization were assessed
before and after training using the Views about Case Conceptualization (VACC)
instrument. Participants’ attitudes about evidence-based practice were also examined as a
possible mediating variable between training and effect. These attitudes were assessed
using the Evidence-Based Practice Attitudes Scale (EBPAS). Workshops were separated by four weeks in order to assess whether initial training effects persisted
over time.
Change in case conceptualization skill was analyzed using repeated measures
ANOVA. Participants’ mean CCEF 2.0 scores significantly increased (p < .001) from
pre-test (M = 11.9; SD = 7.74) to post-test (M = 36.7; SD = 7.80) following the first
workshop. The second workshop took place four weeks later with 74 of the original 104
participants. It built on the content of the first workshop and introduced advanced
concepts such as client culture, strengths and protective factors, and predictive ability.
Participants’ mean CCEF 2.0 scores also significantly increased (p < .001) from pre-test
(M = 35.1; SD = 8.11) to post-test (M = 66.3; SD = 10.95) following the second
workshop. There was a small but statistically significant (p < .005) decrease of 1.5 points
in mean scores from the end of Workshop I to Workshop II, indicating that the effects of
the training deteriorate slowly over time. Participants’ attitudes about evidence based
practice and some demographic variables were significantly related to training effects.
Stepwise hierarchical regression analysis determined that these individual variables
account for various portions of the variance in CCEF 2.0 scores. This study’s theoretical,
practice, and research implications are discussed in detail.