News

Dr Bronwyn Raykos Accepted into Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program 30 September 2022 Dr Bronwyn Raykos Accepted into Inaugural Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program We are excited to share that Senior Clinical Psychologist and Eating Disorders Program lead Dr Bronwyn Raykoshas recently been selected into the inaugural intake of the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (AUSCEP). This program aims to up skill clinicians and accelerate innovation by developing the entrepreneurial and innovation mindset of Australia's healthcare professionals to create positive change for the Australian healthcare system. It supports clinicians who want to make a difference in the world to overcome predictable barriers which often require non-clinical skills that aren't taught in training, such as entrepreneurialism, design thinking and communication. Dr Through AUSCEP, Dr Raykos will be working on turning CCI’s recently released set of guided self-help modulesfor eating disorders (Break Free from ED) into an online resource and / or app that will support the reduction of wait...

CCI Aboriginal Cadet James Hill Named Shell Aboriginal STEM Student of the Year 31 August 2022 CCI Aboriginal Cadet James Hill Named Shell Aboriginal STEM Student of the Year During 2020 and 2021 we were lucky enough to have Ngarrindjeri man James Hill working with our team at CCI through the Aboriginal Cadetship Program, which provides an opportunity for Aboriginal people to gain paid work experiencing while completing an undergraduate degree. James was an invaluable member of our team during this time and contributed to important research looking at positive outcomes from integrating telehealth into routine clinical practice for eating disorders during COVID-19 (you can read more about this here). James is currently completing a PhD through the University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute and was recently recognised through the Western Australian Premier’s Science Awards as the Shell Aboriginal STEM Student of the Year. This award recognises an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander undergraduate or postgraduate student who demonstrates excellence in STEM st...

New Eating Disorders Modules Available - Break Free From ED 31 July 2022 New Eating Disorders Modules Available: Break Free from ED We are pleased to announce the release of our latest set of consumer modules –Break Free From ED. These modules provide clear, scientific information about eating disorders and guide consumers through key components of cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders (CBT-ED). The modules cover features of eating disorders and associated risks, common maintaining factors, establishing weekly weighing, using self-monitoring to understand patterns of eating as well as other eating disorder thoughts and behaviours, steps towards eating regularly, adequately, and including feared foods as part of recovery, and how to use behavioural experiments to test out fears. Binge eating, purging and driven exercise are addressed before body checking and body avoidance interventions are introduced. The role of negative core beliefs in keeping people vulnerable to eating disorder behaviours are also examined, and strategies are provided...

Inaugural Research Strategy Launched 30 June 2022 Inaugural Research Strategy Launched In May 2022, CCI launched its inaugural research strategy. The document emphasizes that research and evaluation are fundamental components of the model of care at CCI, and that as a centre of excellence in clinical psychology we strive to improve the lives of people with mental health challenges through world-class applied research. The strategy notes that our mission is to support partnerships between researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience to ensure consumers receive high quality care with outcomes that set new international benchmarks through continual evaluation, quality improvement, and innovative translational research. The document describes CCI’s research values and guiding principles, such as that we are consumer-focused; that research and practice must be tightly integrated in order to optimise consumer outcomes; and that we while our primary focus is on improving the lives of our clients in Western Australia throug...

Needle Phobia Handout Available on CCI Website 22 May 2022 Needle Phobia Handout Available on CCI Website Fear of needles is common and prevents many people from accessing healthcare such as blood tests or vaccinations. This has become particularly challenging in the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic and associated vaccine mandates. Fortunately, there are evidence-based interventions to assist people overcoming needle phobia and CCI has developed a helpful handout on this topic that you can access on our website. This handout covers key interventions for needle phobia, including applied muscle tension, mindfulness of physical sensations, and addressing unhelpful thinking. Most importantly, overcoming any phobia involved facing the situation we are afraid of in order to address the thoughts and actions that maintain our fears. We can do this by using graded exposure to face situations in a controlled and careful manner. CCI provides treatment for needle phobia through our Mood and Anxiety Program at out clinic here in Perth, Western Austr...

CCI YouTube Channel Hits Quarter of a Million Views 28 April 2022 CCI YouTube Channel Hits a Quarter of a Million Views Launched in October 2019 as part of a pilot project funded by the Mental Health Commission, CCI’s YouTube channel offers clinicians free demonstrational videos of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques in action. The video topics were developed with mental health professionals and students in mind, with the aim of providing supplementary training materials to those who wish to learn more about how to apply CBT in their work with clients. So far, we have featured content on explaining the vicious cycles of depression and anxiety, working through a thought diary, introducing behavioural activation and behavioural experiments. A second series of videos released in 2021 includes doing interoceptive exposure and discussing components of eating disorder treatment. We will soon be releasing two more videos on working with worry and rumination. Today, CCI’s channel has exceeded 250, 000 views, and has gained over 5400 su...

Dr Bronwyn Raykos Recognised with Award at ANZAED Conference 20 February 2022 Dr Bronwyn Raykos Recognised with Award at ANZAED Conference CCI’s own Dr Bronwyn Raykos has been recognised for her contribution to the field of eating disorders when she was presented with an award at the annual Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) Conference, which was held here in Perth last August 2021. Dr Raykos is a Senior Clinical Psychologist, researcher, and the coordinator of CCI’s eating disorder program, and has worked in the field of eating disorders for over 15 years. The ANZAED Distinguished Achievement Award in the Field of Eating Disorders is awarded to recognise a distinguished contribution of an ANZAED member in the area of research, clinical practice, education and advocacy in the field of eating disorders. During her time working on eating disorders, Dr Raykos has significantly improved access to evidence-based care and treatment outcomes for adolescents and adults with eating disorders in Western Australia. She has been pa...

CCI 2022 Training Calendar Now Online 06 December 2021 CCI's 2022 Training Calendar Now Online We’re pleased to release the 2022 calendar of CCI training workshops, featuring a range of topics suited to clinicians at different levels from beginner to more advanced. In addition to the sought-after CBT Foundation Course, we will be offering workshops on working with eating disorders and bipolar disorder, as well as targeting commonly seen problem areas such as worry and rumination, and low self-esteem. Registrations for the 2022 series will open on 10th January 2022, and registration forms can be downloaded from the CCI website. For more information about the workshops and dates, please visit: www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Training/Training-Calendar In the meantime, mental health clinicians and trainees who are interested in viewing examples of CBT concepts in action can check out CCI’s youtube channel (www.youtube.com/c/CentreforClinicalInterventions) Several of the videos also serve as a supplement for previous participants who have...

CCI Collaborates on Guide to Low Intensity Psychological Interventions for Anxiety and Depression 30 November 2021 CCI Collaborates on a Clinician’s Guide to Low Intensity Psychological Interventions (LIPIs) for Anxiety and Depression Professor Peter McEvoy (Senior Clinical Psychologist and Research Director at CCI) and CCI and Dr Bruce Campbell (Senior Clinical Psychologist and CCI Director) have recently collaborated with Curtin University to develop a manual for the WA Primary Health Alliance to provide clinicians with evidence-based information to implement Low Intensity Psychological Interventions (LIPIs) for adults with anxiety and depression. This guide can support GPs and other primary care providers to plan and implement the most efficient, least restrictive, lowest cost mental health treatment to the most people possible and in a way that is specifically matched to the client’s needs. “The LIPI manual comprehensively guides clinicians from initial assessment all the way through to treatment development, implementation and evaluation,” says Professor McEvoy. &ldqu...

Professor Peter McEvoy Wins 2021 AACBT Distinguished Career Award 11 November 2021 Professor Peter McEvoy Wins 2021 AACBT Distinguished Career Award CCI’s Research Director, Professor Peter McEvoy, has been presented with a Distinguished Career Award for his contribution to cognitive or behavioural research and therapy, at the recently held 2021 conference of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy. This award recognises the exceptional contribution of an AACBT member whose career achievements have made an outstanding contribution to CBT, through research, teaching, and clinical innovation and is selected by the AACBT National President, National Conference Chair, and Director. Professor McEvoy is longstanding member of AACBT and has actively contributed to the organisation through presenting at numerous AACBT conferences and masterclasses and acting as the scientific convenor for the 2021 conference. He is currently working as a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Curtin University and as the Research Director of the Centre for Clini...

CCI Demonstration Videos Available on YouTube 11 November 2021 CCI Demonstration Videos Available on YouTube CCI have developed a number of videos to demonstrate the use of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) strategies. These videos are designed solely for educational purposes, to supplement the professional development and training needs of qualified mental health professionals. They are not a substitute for CBT training and supervision and are not designed to be treatment tools for use by, or with, clients. Our first series of videos were released in 2019 and include topics such as explaining and reversing the vicious cycles of depression and anxiety, working through a thought diary, and working with clients on behavioural activation and behavioural experiments. We have recently begun releasing a second series of videos that will continue to be rolled out over the remainder of 2021, covering topics such as safety behaviours, and the thought-feeling connection. You can find links to all of our videos here on our website, or you can find and subs...

Laura Smith Recognised at 2021 Going the Extra Mile Awards 16 August 2021 CCI’s Laura Smith Recognised at 2021 Going the Extra Mile (GEM) Awards We are delighted that CCI staff member Laura Smith(Senior Clinical Psychologist) was recognised with an Honourable Mention at the recent Going the Extra Mile (GEM) Awards. These awards celebrate high achieving staff who exemplify the North Metropolitan Health Service values of Care, Respect, Innovation, Teamwork and Integrity in their service. Laura was recognized for her recent development and publication of a measure to evaluate people's confidence in managing their Bipolar illness; this measure has now been utilized by other services internationally. The GEM award acknowledged Laura’s coordination and leadership of the treatment program for Bipolar Disorder at CCI as well as her 20 years of experience working in this field. Laura’s positive attitude was highlighted, as well as her talent for establishing rapid rapport with consumers. You can find out more about Laura Smithand CCI’s treatm...

CCI Study on Telehealth During COVID-19 Published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders 15 July 2021 CCI Study on Telehealth During COVID-19 Published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders Psychological treatments for eating disorders have traditionally been provided using face-to-face therapy. However the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) resulted in eating disorder treatment services in Western Australia and around the world having to rapidly transition to providing treatment via teletherapy. Concerns have been raised that outcomes may be worse when treatment is delivered remotely via teletherapy than in person; and more generally that the pandemic may have resulted in a substantially worsening of symptoms among people with eating disorders. However high-quality research is needed to establish whether such claims are valid. We sought to investigate the impact of a forced switch in therapy modality on treatment outcomes. We did this by studying the outcomes of eating disorder patients treated at CCI during the pandemic ("COVID cohort") and comparing them against patients tre...

Act Belong Commit References CCI Materials in Article on Managing Anxiety in Lockdown 01 July 2021 Act Belong Commit References CCI Materials in Article on Managing Anxiety Mid-Way Through (Another) Lockdown Act Belong Commit released an article yesterday on how people can manage their anxiety in the context of another COVID-related lockdown here in Perth, Western Australia this past week. The article acknowledges collaboration with Professor Peter McEvoy, a Senior Clinical Psychologist at CCI, who contributed to the development of this piece. It references a number of therapeutic interventions routinely used at CCI, including containing your worry to a particular ‘worry time’, remembering how you have coped in the past in a difficult circumstance, and following the Act Belong Commit principles, which include doing things that make you feel good. The article links to a list of ‘50 Feel Good Moments’ detailing activities know to bring pleasure to some people, and is based on CCI’s Fun Activities Catalogue, which you can find on our website. This list inc...

Professor Peter McEvoy Interviewed About High Functioning Anxiety 10 June 2021 Professor Peter McEvoy Interviewed About High Functioning Anxiety Professor Peter McEvoy, one of CCI’s Senior Clinical Psychologist and our Director of Research(who is also a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Curtin University) was recently interviewed by news.com.au to share his knowledge on how to recognise high functioning anxiety.Professor McEvoy is one of the world’s foremost experts on social anxiety disorder, repetitive negative thinking, and transdiagnostic approaches to treating mental disorders, as well as being the Associate Editor of the Journal for Anxiety Disorders. In this article, Professor McEvoy highlighted inflexible thinking and behaviours, avoiding doing certain tasks, and over-controlling behaviours around certain tasks or people as being possible signs of what is described as high-functioning anxiety. He also discusses how best to support a loved one who is experiencing anxiety and how to address the physical and cognitive symptoms of anxiety, with ...

Founding CCI Director Awarded ACPA Lifetime Membership 30 April 2021 Founding CCI Director Awarded ACPA Lifetime Membership At the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA) it was announced that our Founding Director, Paula Nathan, was to be welcomed as a Lifetime Member of ACPA in recognition of the significant contribution she has made to the field of clinical psychology. The organisation released the following statement to announce this achievement: Dr Nathan has had a highly distinguished career. Dr Nathan developed the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) in Perth, Western Australia to provide expert specialist psychological interventions for patients suffering from complex affective disorders and anxiety disorders. In 2005, WA’s first adult and youth eating disorders service was established within CCI. Strongly grounded in the scientist-practitioner model, CCI provides WA consumers with access to high quality, evidence-based psychological treatment, and continually works to improve treatments thr...

RANZCP Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder Suggest CCI Resources 28 February 2021 RANZCP Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder Mention CCI Resources The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrist (RANZCP) recently updated their clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders. The guidelines provide expert advice and recommendations about the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder.The guidelines recommend that psychoeducation be provided to all individuals diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder. Psychoeducation helps ensure that clients understand the nature of depression and/or mania, educates them about treatment options, and equips them with self-management strategies they may find helpful. There are many psychoeducational resources for depression and bipolar on the CCI website. CCI's resources were specifically mentioned in the RANCP guidelines as examples of high-quality psychoeducation that clinicians may find useful to distribute to their clients. Links to these resources are provided below: Bipolar Disorder Psychoeducation Resources Depre...

Resources to Help Manage Anxiety About the COVID-19 Vaccine 18 February 2021 Resources to help manage anxiety about the COVID-19 vaccine The COVID-19 vaccine rollout will start in Australia next week. Whilst many people will be happy with this development, some people will be feeling anxious about getting the vaccine. Needle phobias are common, and are estimated to affect around 10% of the population. To support people with needle phobia, and the health professionals treating them, we have developed some information sheets explaining needle phobiaand how to manage it. Some people may also feel anxious about the COVID-19 vaccine due to more general concerns about vaccines. It is important to base health decisions on credible information. There are many sources of information about vaccines and it can be hard to make sense of conflicting information. To assist with this, we have created an information sheet with some tipsto help evaluate the credibility of different sources of health information.

CCI 2021 Training Calendar Now Online 31 January 2021 The CCI 2021 Training Calendar is Now Online! CCI offers a range of one and two day training workshops for health professionals. Our workshops are designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to implement evidence-based treatments for a range of mental health problems. Workshops are facilitated by clinical psychologists are usually held at our clinic inPerth, Western Australia. Please see our training calendar pageto find out about our upcoming workshops (click on any workshop title for further details). Topics being offered in 2021 include: - Understanding and Applying the CBT Model: A Foundation Course for Clinicians -Enhanced CBT for Eating Disorders: CBT-E -Working with Procrastination -Working with Body Dysmorphic Disorder -Understanding and Applying the CBT Model: A Foundation Course for Clinicians -Advances in CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder For workshop dates and costs, please see the ourtraining calendar page. For further information about CCI training workshop...

Improving Mental Health During the COVID Pandemic 30 November 2020 Improving Mental Health During the COVID Pandemic A Research Collaboration Between Curtin University and CCI Researchers at Curtin University and the Centre for Clinical Interventions have recently finished a study on a self-help guide to improve mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guide contains ideas to improve mental health in children, teenagers, adults and older adults. The researchers found significant reductions in anxiety and depression, and most people found the guide useful, and easy to read. The guide is free and available now at www.covidcbt.org.

New Consumer Modules for Social Anxiety Now Online 31 October 2020 Stepping Out of Social Anxiety New Consumer Modules for Social Anxiety Now Online We are pleased to announce the recent release of our latest set of consumer modules Stepping Out of Social Anxiety. Since the 2003 release of CCI’s original set of social anxiety modules, Shy No Longer, CCI’s social anxiety treatment program has evolved considerably, to reflect the state-of-the-art of the theoretical and empirical literature, and the contributions of CCI’s own applied clinical research program. This culminated in our recent randomised controlled trial which demonstrated that our imagery-enhanced and verbally-based group CBT programs for social anxiety both had effect sizes comparable to the largest effects found in the literature to date. Stepping Out of Social Anxiety presents much of the core content of these programs, in a format conducive to consumers working through them independently or with the assistance of a mental health professional. Some of the major chang...

BSOCIAL Trial Results Published 30 September 2020 BSOCIAL Trial Results Published For the past several years, CCI have been part of a randomised control trial comparing imagery-enhanced and verbally-based group cognitive behaviour therapy for social anxiety disorder (know as the BSOCIAL trial). We're very excited to announce that this trial was recently completed and the results have now been published in the journalPsychological Medicine.This kind of project epitomises the integration of research and clinical practice that we are so passionate about here at CCI, and we're hopeful that these results will not only help to guide our own treatment of social anxiety disorder, but also to support other clinicians around the world in providing evidence-based treatment for people experiencing social anxiety. Why did we do this study? People with social anxiety often report experiencing mental images that relate to past (and anticipated future) social experiences, which can be associated with high levels of anxiety. Despite this, past treatme...

Funding Granted for Telehealth Research at CCI 01 August 2020 Funding Granted for Telehealth Research at CCI Our team at CCI were recently granted funding through the Building Allied Health Research Capacity grant scheme to conduct a research project exploring how we can improve telehealth delivery of eating disorder treatment based on outcomes and patients’ experiences during COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CCI made a rapid transition to providing psychological treatment via telehealth (i.e., sessions held through video conferencing or telephone) in March-April of 2020. Understanding patient’s experiences of this transition to telehealth is of critical importance in the event that we experience a second wave of COVID-19 in Western Australia and, more broadly, will contribute to understanding how existing services could be expanded to meet the need of patients with eating disorders who are unable to access face-to-face therapy sessions (e.g., those living in rural or remote locations). We are interested in assessing the impact...

CCI Research News to Celebrate 01 June 2020 CCI Research News to Celebrate One of our Senior Clinical Psychologists, Professor Peter McEvoy was recently selected as a finalist for North Metropolitan Health Service 2020 Researcher of the Year awards. We are very lucky to have him heading up our research program here at CCI! Professor McEvoy’s research covers a broad range of areas, with a focus on improving evidence-based treatments for psychological problems. Last year Professor McEvoy contributed to an article about the use of mental imagery in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. We recently found out that this article was in the top 10% of most downloaded papers in the Australian Psychologist journal in the year it was published. You can read more about this article here. It is fantastic to see the interest this article has generated. To learn more about how and why we conduct research at CCI, you can visit our research overview page. You can also find simple summaries of our recent research on ourpublications page .

Resources Now in Easier to Use Fillable Format 03 April 2020 Resources Now in Easier to Use Fillable Format The team at CCI have been working consistently over the past few weeks to support our clients and colleagues through the difficult times we are currently facing relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the need to self-isolate and follow important protocols around social distancing, many people around the world are not able to attend work or appointments in person as they might normally. As a result, we are all needing to adapt to communicating online and finding different ways to conduct our everyday tasks.We are aware this may be a particularly challenging time for people experiencing mental health difficulties, and also for the professionals who are continuing to support these people. One of CCI's four core areas of business is to develop evidence-based online resources to support practitioners delivering psychological interventions, as well as individuals seeking self-help materials to improve their mental health.In order to try a...

Research Updates 02 March 2020 Research Updates: What, How, and Why We Research Research is one of CCI’sfour core areas of businessand is integral to us delivering effective,evidence-based treatmentsto people with mental disorders at ourclinic in Perth, Western Australia.Research also guides thetraining we deliver to mental health professionals, and helps usdevelop resourcesforprofessionals,consumersandcarersthat we make available on our website. We have now introduced a new section to our website that provides brief overviews and links to recent research publications and presentations involving CCI staff. Each review gives a brief snapshot of why we completed a study and how, as well as what we found, and how this knowledge can and will be used at our service in the future (or by other professionals). Recent research updates have covered topics relating to bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and transdiagnostic factors such as intolerance of uncertainty. For example, one study developed a self-report measure ...

Caring Less About Your Looks New Workbook Now Available 13 January 2020 Caring Less About Your Looks: New Workbook Now Available We are pleased to announce the recent release of our latest set of consumer modules –Caring Less About Your Looks– now available online on the CCI website. Most people feel dissatisfied with their appearance from time to time, however there is a difference between momentary dissatisfaction and being completely preoccupied and consumed by appearance concerns.Rather than change individuals’ beliefs about their appearance, this set of modules is designed to help lessen the impact of their appearance concerns on their lives. The modules first examine the consequences of having significant appearance concerns, such as the impact on relationships, mood and work/study functioning, before looking at the factors that maintain the problem (e.g., appearance preoccupation, body checking, appearance altering behaviours, avoidance behaviours and over-evaluation of appearance). The modules also detail specific strategies that ...

CCI 2020 Training Calendar Now Online 13 December 2019 The CCI 2020 Training Calendar is Now Online! CCI offers a range of one and two day training workshops for health professionals. Our workshops are designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to implement evidence-based treatments for a range of mental health problems. Workshops are facilitated by clinical psychologists are are usually held at our clinic inPerth, Western Australia. Please see our training calendar below to find out about our upcoming workshops (click on any workshop title for further details). All 1 day courses cost $160 (GST inc.) and all 2 day courses cost $286 (GST inc.). Courses run from 9:00am to approx 4:30pm. Once you've decided which workshop you would like to attend, you can visit ourregistration pageto register. Please note our eligibility criteria on that page. 2020 Training Calendar Dates Level Cost Course Register By 18 & 1...

CCI Clinical Demonstration Videos Now Online 04 December 2019 CCI Clinical Demonstration Videos Now Online! The Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) is pleased to announce a special release of short videos demonstrating the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) strategies. Topics covered include psychoeducation about depression and anxiety, as well as collaborative applications of thought diaries, behavioural experiments, and behavioural activation, with clients. These videos are designed to supplement the professional development and training needs of mental health professionals practising CBT. They are suitable for clinicians who have foundational knowledge of CBT or who have attended past CCI workshops, and would like to reinforce their work with examples of how to incorporate CBT principles into their sessions. Clinical supervisors and mental health training clinics may also find these videos a useful resource for their registrars and students. You can find and subscribe to the CCI YouTube channel here.

The Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders 2019 Conference 04 November 2019 2019 ANZAED Conference in Adelaide CCI was thrilled when one of our team, Professor Peter McEvoy, was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Australian & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) conference in August 2019, which was held in Adelaide. Professor McEvoy presented a keynote on working with imagery in the context of emotional and eating disorders. He also presented a pre-conference workshop with Dr Bronwyn Raykos (head of the Eating Disorders Program at CCI) on using imagery-based techniques to enhance outcomes in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for eating disorders. The other keynote speaker was Professor Ulrike Schmidt from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Professor Schmidt presented on novel brain-directed treatments in anorexia nervosa and also ran a workshop focusing on the importance and logistics of providing a rapid, early response when young people presented with their first eating disorder episode. It was fantastic to se...

Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 07 October 2019 Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (6th – 12th October), with World Mental Health Day falling on the 10th of October each year. Mental Health Week in WA has been running for more than 50 years, and is coordinated by the Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) with the support of the Government of Western Australia, the Mental Health Commission andLotterywest. The World Mental Health Day website describes that “1 in 5 Australians are affected by mental illness, yet many don’t seek help because of stigma”. The focus of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will be on “how we live, learn, work and play - realising it's a combination of factors which impact our mental wellbeing”. Here at CCI we believe that everyone should have access to the help they need for mental health problems. Our team have developed a number of evidence-based resources over the years to support people experien...

9th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies Berlin 2019 12 July 2019 9th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, Berlin 2019 In July, Bronwyn Raykos and Peter McEvoy from the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) travelled to Berlin to present talks at the World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (WCBCT). Over 4,000 international delegates attended the conference and it was a privilege to listen to the world’s leading experts in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) discussing cutting edge research and advances in CBT for psychological disorders. Highlights of the conference included excellent papers on the use of mental imagery to enhance outcomes in CBT across a range of psychological problems; the use of exposure-based techniques and learning principles to maximise the effectiveness of CBT interventions and reduce relapse, and a consideration of techniques that are effective in improving outcomes for individuals across a range of psychological problems (such as the use of mental imagery, addressing perfectionism, inc...

Support and Skill Building Groups for Friends and Family Members at CCI 04 July 2019 Support and Skill-Building Groups for Friends and Family Members at CCI. Here at the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) we are conscious that anyone who provides care and support to a partner, relative, or friend while they are experiencing a mental health problem plays a really important role in providing emotional and practical support to their loved one. We are keen to help people learn how they can best support their loved ones. At CCI we offer Support and Skill-Building Groups for people who have a loved one who has an Eating Disorders and also for people who have a loved one with Bipolar Disorder. These interactive groups provide information about the disorders and give participants an opportunity to share their personal experiences of supporting a person with a mental health problem, as well as providing the opportunity for participants to learn helpful skills and strategies relating to their support role. We have found that these brief groups have a big impact, and that pe...

A Trial of 10 Session Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Eating Disorders at CCI 01 June 2019 A trial of 10-session cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT-T) for eating disorders at CCI. To celebrate World Eating Disorders Action Day on June 2nd2019, we share some recent innovations developed within our own Eating Disorders Program. There are currently long waitlists to access evidence-based interventions for eating disorders. This has resulted in an increased need for shorter, cost-effective psychological therapies that are also effective to ease the burden on the healthcare system and ensure that individuals can access appropriate treatment more quickly. Professor Glenn Waller and colleagues at the University of Sheffield recently developed 10-session Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for eating disorders – an outpatient treatment that adopts some of the key elements of CBT for eating disorders (CBT-ED) such as in-session weighing, exposure, nutrition, cognitive restructuring, body image work, and relapse prevention. Initial evaluations of CBT-T have shown it to be as effective a...

Visiting Professionals... Opportunities for Learning and Collaboration 17 April 2019 Visiting Professionals: Opportunities for Learning and Collaboration Here at CCI we are continually looking at innovations in the field of psychology and ways we might be able to improve our practice, collaborate with other professionals, or contribute to advances in psychological interventions. In early April 2019, the team at CCI were fortunate to meet with Professor Bethany Teachman from the University of Virginia to discuss her work in the area of cognitive bias modification and learn more about the MindTrails Project. Professor Teachman works at the University of Virginia Program for Anxiety, Cognition and Treatment (PACT) lab, where she studies cognitive processes that contribute to the development and maintenance of psychopathology, particularly anxiety disorders. The lab has a particular focus on automatic cognitive processing, and trying to understand how thoughts that occur outside of our awareness or conscious control contribute to emotional dysregulation. Professor Teachm...

New Training Workshop CBT for Body Dysmorphic Disorder 28 February 2019 New Training Workshop: CBT for Body Dysmorphic Disorder In 2018 CCI was pleased to introduce a new training workshop to its training series that specifically focuses on CBT for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Given the positive feedback we received from participants at this training, we will be offering this workshop again this year on May 22nd from 9:00 – 4:30pm (for more details on the workshop, and to download the registration form, please see the Training section of our website). BDD affects 1-2 % of the general population, but prevalence rates can be as high as 6-7% in psychiatric settings. The appearance-related preoccupations and behaviours (e.g. mirror-checking, grooming) of individuals with BDD far exceed the physical appearance concerns experienced by most people from time to time.BDD commonly co-occurs with disorders such as depression and social anxiety disorder, and individuals with eating disorders may also report appearance concerns that meet criteria for a comorbi...

CCI Founding Director Awarded Officer of The Order of Australia 11 February 2019 CCI Founding Director Awarded Officer of The Order of Australia Late last year, CCI’s founding director Paula Nathan was awarded the Office of the Order of Australia (AO) on the 2018 Queen’s Birthday List. Paula was recognised for her distinguished service to community health as a psychologist, particularly to understanding mental health disorders, and to establishing specialised treatment and support services. Motivated by humanist and social justice values, Paula developed CCI to provide expert specialist psychological interventions for patients suffering from complex affective disorders and anxiety disorders. In 2005, WA’s first adult and youth eating disorders service was established within CCI. Strongly grounded in the scientist-practitioner model, CCI provides WA consumers with access to high quality, evidence-based psychological treatment, and continually works to improve treatments through an ongoing dialogue between clinical practice and a strong program of a...

2019 Training Calendar 03 December 2018 Every year, the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) offers a series of clinically relevant and practical workshops in evidence based psychological therapy. From the beginning therapist to the experienced clinician, the workshop series designed by the CCI team each year aims to provide a range of training experiences to extend participants’ understanding and clinical practice. We are pleased to present our training calendar for 2019 - in this coming year, we hope to continue sharing the most up-to-date, evidence-based approaches in working with specific clinical issues, including eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, social anxiety disorder, low self-esteem, and procrastination. Several of these workshops will require experience in using CBT; however, our introductory CBT Foundation workshop is suitable for mental health practitioners with no previous experience of CBT, and provides a good basis for completing other CCI workshops. For further information on our training...

WA Health Excellence Awards Finalists 31 October 2018 WA Health Excellence Award Finalists We are delighted that two CCI projects have been selected as finalists in the Western Australian Health Excellence Awards. Our Family Based Therapy (FBT) program is being recognised for improving out of hospital healthcare for young people with eating disorders. CCI has made changes to ensure that young people and their families can access FBT quickly. This has presented some challenges for our service, due to the high demand for this treatment and the small number of clinicians working in this program. The hard work involved in reducing wait times for families is paying off. Preliminary results from our program are showing that when families access FBT sooner, they are more likely to complete treatment, and achieve better outcomes sooner. We are honoured to be selected as a finalist for this award, and particularly congratulate our FBT clinicians. For the last few years, CCI has been running support and skills building evenings for people with a l...

National Carers Week 09 October 2018 National Carers Week Carers are being recognised during National Carers Weekfrom the 14th – 20th October. Carers play a unique and important role in supporting people who are experiencing mental health problems. If you have a loved one who is engaging in treatment at CCI, we would firstly like to say thank you! We appreciate the role you play in supporting your loved one as they engage in treatment. You may find it helpful to read our ‘Information for Carers’ brochure, which provides some information about what you can expect, and how you can support your loved one as they undertake the challenges involved with treatment. Equipping yourself with information can help you provide support to your loved one who is dealing with a mental health problem. The CCI website has free resources that can help you learn more about various mental health problems and helpful coping strategies. CCI also runs free information evenings for family and friends of people with an Eating Dis...

Body Image Awareness Week 09 September 2018 Body Image Awareness Week Body Image and Awareness Week ran from the 1st to the 8th September. It aims to raise awareness of eating disorders, which are a life-threatening illness. It also takes the opportunity to celebrate our bodies – unique, diverse, strong, and beautiful. A range of wonderful resources have been developed to assist with these goals. So what can you do to be part of the conversation? We encourage you to look out for the resources at theButterfly Foundation#LOVEYOURBODYWEEK #CHANGETHECONVO. Get informed. You can find out more about eating disorders, through theNational Eating Disorder Collaboration, including their video explaining what eating disorders are. For further information about eating disorders and their treatment, check out the huge range of resources available for consumers and professionals on the CCI website, including our handouts on “Body Image and Body Dissatisfaction” and “Media and Body Image”. As part of ...

Welcome to our new website 14 August 2018 Welcome to our new website We are very pleased to present our recently upgraded website. Over the years we have been busy developing resources for use in our clinical work when treating people who come to our service for assistance with anxiety, depressive and eating disorders. About 15 years ago we were fortunate to receive a grant which allowed us to develop our original website and make our resources available to consumers and clinicians around the world. Over this time, our website has become incredibly popular and we are pleased that our resources have been so helpful to so many (thanks to everyone who has provided feedback over the years!). The website has also allowed us to promote and provide information about our training program and to highlight our research activities. We have now had the opportunity to upgrade the site, which allows us to reorganise the content and take advantage of many features to make accessing the site easier. All of our resources are still available on...

Updated handouts for eating disorders 10 August 2018 Updated eating disorders handouts now available One of the core areas of CCI’s business is the creation of freely available online resources that are accessible to both consumers and professionals. These include a range of guided self-help modules, as well as many information sheets covering a wide range of topics relating to mental health. These online resources are regularly accessed by people all over the world, and we are fortunate to frequently receive feedback from individuals and organisations that have used our resources (either for research, clinical practice or their own personal use) and have found them to be clear, accurate, and helpful. During 2017, CCI’s Eating Disorders Program team have been hard at work reviewing each and every one of their handouts, with the support of various experts in the field. This has involved carefully revising the content of each handout to ensure they contain the most up to date evidence-based information that is easy and accessib...

Treating severe and enduring anorexia 24 July 2018 Treating severe and enduring anorexia CCI has been working with Professor Glenn Waller from the University of Sheffield to assess whether people with more severe or enduring anorexia nervosa have poorer outcomes with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). We also wanted to know whether people who have struggled with anorexia nervosa for longer are less likely to complete CBT treatment. We studied 134 people with anorexia nervosa who completed measures of eating disorder symptoms and quality of life before, during, and after treatment. We found that the duration of illness or severity of anorexia nervosa behaviours, attitudes or weight were not associated with treatment completion or outcomes in CBT. This study shows that individuals with more severe or long-standing anorexia nervosa did just as well in CBT as any other patient starting treatment. These findings offer hope for patients who have struggled with anorexia nervosa illness for a long time they have just as much chance of doin...

Social anxiety disorder treatment trial 19 July 2018 Update on social anxiety disorder treatment trial CCI is currently conducting an NHMRC-funded randomised controlled trial comparing two group treatment protocols for social anxiety disorder (SAD). The trial was funded from 2016-2019 with the aim of providing treatment to around 100 clients with a principal diagnosis of SAD. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders, with an estimated 8.4% of Australian adults affected at some point in their life. People with SAD are highly fearful of evaluation, often expecting themselves to fall far short of others’ expectations. Situations such as parties, meetings, presentations, job interviews, and just being observed by others can be extremely anxiety-provoking for people with SAD. Because social situations cannot be easily avoided, SAD can be highly distressing, debilitating, and chronic without treatment. To date, over 90 people have been assessed and 60 have been randomised to a treatment condition. Af...