The overall aim of this study, Training Technology to Enhance Addiction Counselor Helping (TEACH-CBT), is to develop and conduct a randomized controlled trial of a demonstration blended e-learning program for drug abuse counselors in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). TEACH-CBT will offer several advantages over traditional training: compelling, novel Web format with immediate feedback to counselors through on-line quizzes; individualized prompting so counselors complete the course in a timely fashion; links to other Web resources; ease of access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; and unobtrusive tracking of how counselors interact with the Website and the e-bulletin board. The TEACH-CBT model has additional features intended to guarantee real-world applicability for participating counselors: 3-member clinical teams including supervisors from the same agency are trained concurrently on an individualized schedule; tailored exercises for each module encourage weekly team discussion of CBT principles/strategies using agency examples; clinical teams use TEACH-CBT e-bulletin board to share homework and questions with teams from other agencies and project faculty; graphic presentation feedback to individual counselors/supervisors as reward for continuous self-rating of CBT adherence after training. A randomized controlled trial with two samples (60 Master's level counselors; 60 BA level counselors) from New England substance abuse agencies will be used to assess effectiveness of TEACH-CBT compared to no training on measures of (a) change in counselor attitude, confidence, and knowledge; (b) percent of counselors that reach an adequate level of competence in CBT delivery based on blinded review of counselor-session audiotapes; and, (c) percent of counselors that sustain practice adherence 3 months after training. Counselors in the control group will access TEACH-CBT after research measurement is complete. A distinguished research team with strong counseling agency affiliations are assembled from Brown University, ATTC of New England, Boston University's School of School Work and the New England Research Institutes to produce the Website training program. A multidisciplinary panel of expert CBT faculty researchers will advise on and approve all CBT content. With staff and faculty from social work, psychology, nursing and psychiatry, project publications will be broadly disseminated among all counseling disciplines and the regional ATTC programs.
