(PS10-B48) Therapist Training for Treatment of Tics: An Innovative, Online, Self-guided Teaching Platform

Tic disorders affect 1-3% of the population and can cause substantial impairment and diminish quality of life. The Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is a behavioral treatment that has shown to be effective for reducing tics, but unfortunately is not widely available due to a lack of trained therapists. Recent surveys confirm this problem; less than 5% of psychologists reported knowing how to implement CBIT, though 63% reported wanting to learn more. Although in-person training in CBIT is available through the Tourette Association of America (TAA), it is time intensive, cost prohibitive, and, as a result, only trains a limited number of professionals a year. To increase accessibility, CBIT-Trainer was developed as an online, self-guided therapist training program. Initial testing has been done to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of CBIT-Trainer. CBIT-naïve therapists (i.e., never attended a CBIT training nor used CBIT to treat tics) were recruited to evaluate the feasibility of an online prototype of CBIT-Trainer. The therapists (N=22) were given access to two modules that teach core CBIT therapeutic techniques: psychoeducation and habit reversal training (HRT). Therapists were assessed after having access to these modules for two weeks. During the assessment, therapists were asked to implement HRT with a simulated patient. Trained assessors rated the quality of the skills demonstrated using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from “poor” to “excellent.” Twenty out of 22 (91%) therapists received ratings of “good” or higher across all the skills assessed. Twenty-one out of 22 (95%) therapists were rated as “very good” or “excellent” on the overall quality of the demonstration. Overall knowledge was measured with a quiz given pre- and post- training. Therapists’ knowledge scores (n=19) increased from a mean of 74.5% correct pre-training to 95.5% post-training, with all 19 (100%) therapists showing improvement (mean improvement = 21%, range 5-42%). An additional 20 CBIT-naïve therapists are currently being recruited to evaluate the feasibility of the finalized version of CBIT-Trainer.