Clinical Skills and Resources
Certain clinical skills are foundational and may be useful to providers of any clinical orientation. The skills and techniques represented here are broadly applicable to a number of different clinical presentations and therapeutic styles.
Explore each section to discover nw clinical skills, innovative ways to use your current skills, or to review techniques that you haven’t used in a while.
We encourage you to check back for new content as we continue to expand this section.
- EBP Implementation
- Cognitive Skills
- Behavioral Skills
- Emotion Regulation Skills
- Motivational Enhancement Skills
EBP Implementation Strategies
Implementing an evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP) is a process that requires balancing adherence to practice standards and flexible application to meet individual client needs. Across EBPs, there are common practices, such as introducing a rationale for treatment; setting an agenda; modifying the EBP, as necessary to support optimal engagement and outcomes; and, assigning assignments/homework, to include managing the provider-client relationships when those go undone. In this area, you’ll find a number of tools (handouts, blogs, and videos) to assist you in managing the implementation of EBPs.
Web pages:
● VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guidelines
Handouts:
● What Makes an Effective Therapist? (PDF)
Blogs:
● Modifying EBT Protocols
● Assessing Patient Readiness for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy
● If the Evidence-Based Psychotherapy is Ineffective, What Then?
● Symptom Exacerbation When Using Evidence-Based Psychotherapies
● Evidence-Based Care - Why Are Providers Resistant to Treatments We Don't Know?
● The Treatment Rational - Blueprints of Psychotherapy
Videos:
● Agenda Setting
● Treatment Rationale Roundtable
● Brief Mood Check
● Assigning Homework
● Using Self-Report Measures
The above are websites and resources that behavioral health providers may find useful.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. The DoD and the Center for Deployment Psychology do not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
Cognitive Skills
Many EBP psychotherapy interventions use cognitive skills to increase awareness, acceptance, and modification of thoughts and belief systems. This section includes tools (handouts, blogs, and videos) to assist you in identifying and implementing cognitive skills in your practice.
Handouts:
● Daily Record of Dysfunctional Thoughts (PDF)
● Downward Arrow Technique Descriptions (PDF)
● ABC Worksheet (PDF)
● Downward Arrow Deck
Videos:
● 5-Column Thought Record
● Modifying Core Beliefs
● Worry Time
● Downward Arrow Technique - Depression
● Downward Arrow Technique - Sleep
● Socratic Questioning - The Art of Guided Self-Discovery (Video)
Web page:
● Socratic Dialogue
Blogs:
● CPT and the Use of Socratic Dialogue (Blog)
● Socratic Dialogue: Professing Ignorance (Blog)
The above are websites and resources that behavioral health providers may find useful.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. The DoD and the Center for Deployment Psychology do not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
Behavioral Skills
Behavioral skills include techniques that are action oriented and experiential. They harness the tremendous power of learning principles to help clients effect positive changes not only in their behavior, but in the way they think, feel and relate to others. This section offers handouts that support clients’ use of behavioral strategies, as well as videos that help providers implement behavioral skills.
Handouts:
● Sleep Diary (PDF)
● Table Sleep Diary (PDF)
● Pleasant Events Schedule (PDF)
● Pleasure Predicting Worksheet (PDF)
Videos:
● Introducing Activity Monitoring
● Activity Monitoring: Establishing Pleasure/Mastery Ratings
● Reviewing the Activity Monitoring Forms
● Relaxation Response - Breathing Response
● Agenda Setting
Blogs:
● Review of Exposure Therapy for Anxiety - Principles and Practice
The above are websites and resources that behavioral health providers may find useful.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. The DoD and the Center for Deployment Psychology do not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
Emotion Regulation Skills - Including Stress Management, Distress Tolerance
Emotions are a common focus of therapeutic intervention as they can be powerful, activating experiences that influence behavioral choices and subjective comfort (or discomfort). This section offers resources to support stress management and distress tolerance as a target in treatment.
Blogs:
● Military Children and Traumatic Brain Injury - Books to Help Parents by Jenny Phillips
● Staff Perspective: Military Couples and Relationships by Dr. Regina Shillinglaw
● Contextualizing the Resilience of LGBTQ Military-Connected Couples by Dr. Kaleigh DeSimone
The above are websites and resources that behavioral health providers may find useful.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. The DoD and the Center for Deployment Psychology do not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
Motivational Enhancement Skills
Change is a process, and one that can be facilitated by increasing readiness for change. This section provides information about the practice of Motivational Interviewing and includes handouts and video resources to implement motivational enhancement strategies.
Blogs:
● Motivational Interviewing Introduction
Handouts:
● Motivational Techniques and Skills (PDF)
● Motivational Interviewing Strategies Readiness Ruler (PDF)
● Guide to Stages of Change (PDF)
Videos:
● Motivational Enhancement - Sleep
● Motivational Enhancement - Sleep Pros and Cons
● CDP Presents: Moving Between Motivational Interviewing and EBPs with Balance and Grace
The above are websites and resources that behavioral health providers may find useful.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) or the Henry M. Jackson Foundation of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. The DoD and the Center for Deployment Psychology do not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.