Low-intensity CBT – abbreviated LICBT – is a global movement designed to increase access to mental health care by means of training laypeople to deliver quality care for pennies on the dollar that such care normally costs. The movement began in Britain twenty years ago and has since spread to countries around the world. Studies often find LICBT treatment outcomes to be on par with those achieved by traditional forms of care.
In January 2021 the first-ever LICBT training program in the United States will launch in California’s Pomona Valley. A partnership between Uncommon Good – a Pomona Valley nonprofit – and All Things CBT, the program will provide 40 hours of online training to 20 Latinx immigrant women and be divided into two parts. The first 20 hours will teach students evidence-based cognitive and behavioral tools to address anxiety and depression. The last 20 hours will focus on training students to become community health workers or promotoras, sharing the skills they’ve learned with others. Pre- and post data will be collected and analyzed to measure the efficacy of both the training program and the LICBT the promotoras will provide.
Please sit in on my discussion of this groundbreaking program with three team members. Joining me from the Pomona Valley is Nancy Mintie; from Mexico City Victoria Chicurel; and from Jerusalem Yehuda Bar Shalom.
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