Fang Fang1, Yingying Zhang, L I Zhang, Meimei Jiang, Rui Song, Y U Wang, Zuowei Wang, Bin Li, Nicholas Farrell, Sandra L Cepeda, Sophie C Schneider, Elizabeth McIngvale, Srijana Shrestha, Wayne K Goodman, Chencheng Zhang, Eric A Storch. 1. FANG, L. ZHANG, JIANG, SONG, Y. WANG, Z. WANG: Shanghai Hongkou District Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China Y. ZHANG and C. ZHANG: Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China LI: Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital, Chengdu, China FARRELL: Rogers Memorial Hospital, Oconomowoc, WI CEPEDA, SCHNEIDER, MCINGVALE, GOODMAN, STORCH: Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX SHRESTHA: Department of Psychology, University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to assess Chinese therapists' beliefs about exposure therapy and to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale (TBES). Modification of therapists' beliefs about exposure therapy was also assessed following attendance at an exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) training workshop. METHODS: A total of 203 therapists participated in the study. The TBES and a measure of anxiety sensitivity were administered in Chinese. After a half-day ERP training workshop, the Chinese version of the TBES was administered to the participants again. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the TBES demonstrated adequate internal consistency, moderate item-level psychometric properties, and a normal distribution in the sample in this study. The TBES scores of the participants decreased significantly after they attended an ERP training course. The reduction in TBES scores was significantly correlated with therapists' caseload of clients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the reliability of the Chinese version of the TBES. Chinese therapists had more negative beliefs about exposure than did American therapists who were evaluated in a different study; however, therapists' negative beliefs were significantly reduced after they attended an ERP training workshop. Future studies are encouraged to explore effective strategies to improve the disseminiation and delivery of exposure therapy in China.
OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to assess Chinese therapists' beliefs about exposure therapy and to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale (TBES). Modification of therapists' beliefs about exposure therapy was also assessed following attendance at an exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) training workshop. METHODS: A total of 203 therapists participated in the study. The TBES and a measure of anxiety sensitivity were administered in Chinese. After a half-day ERP training workshop, the Chinese version of the TBES was administered to the participants again. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the TBES demonstrated adequate internal consistency, moderate item-level psychometric properties, and a normal distribution in the sample in this study. The TBES scores of the participants decreased significantly after they attended an ERP training course. The reduction in TBES scores was significantly correlated with therapists' caseload of clients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the reliability of the Chinese version of the TBES. Chinese therapists had more negative beliefs about exposure than did American therapists who were evaluated in a different study; however, therapists' negative beliefs were significantly reduced after they attended an ERP training workshop. Future studies are encouraged to explore effective strategies to improve the disseminiation and delivery of exposure therapy in China.