The Oracle of Delphi's admonition to 'know thyself' may be more difficult than it seems, when it comes to self-assessment of competence in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). This paper investigates the accuracy of self-rating of competence in relation to other measures such as 'direct' assessment of videotaped sessions or supervisor ratings. Self-assessment of competence is something most of us do and arguably has an important role in professional development, but it may also be biased and unreliable. Two measures were developed, based on the Cognitive Therapy ScaleRevised, to assess student and supervisor assessments of competence at the start and end of a CBT training course. Competence data across a range of measures from a 5-year audit of a postgraduate CBT course is presented and the relationship between self-rated and other-rated measures explored. Results are discussed and it is suggested that trainee self-assessment, while not found in this study to be correlated with other measure of competence, may provide important information about confidence development, and areas where a trainee perceives they have strengths and weaknesses.

This article investigates the development of competency in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as a result of a postgraduate training course in CBT in Wellington, New Zealand. Thirteen experienced mental health professionals attended the half-time 30-week-long course. Preliminary data are presented on the development of knowledge as assessed at the beginning and end of the course by a modified version of the Behaviour Therapy Scale (Freiheit & Overholser, 1997), other-rated competence as measured by the Cognitive Therapy Scale—Revised (Blackburn, Milne, & James, 1997), and supervisor and student evaluations of competence in particular skill areas. All students improved in specific CBT skills as a result of training. The extent that students improved and variations around the other outcome measures, together with the limitations of this pilot study and suggestions for improvements for future investigations, are discussed.

Many existing assessment tools for patients in low awareness states involve language functioning capabilities. Information regarding the construction and validity of a new assessment tool that relies on music, called the Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Low Awareness States (i.e. MATLAS), is presented in this paper. A total of nine assessments, involving eight patients, were examined. Results from the investigation of scores from three tools: the MATLAS, the Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique (SMART), and the Wessex Head Injury Matrix Main Scale (WHIM)), as administered by multidisciplinary staff, were analysed, and the MATLAS was found to have good validity with these measures. While limitations involved in this work prevent conclusions about the validity of the MATLAS being drawn, they support the need for further research, and indicate that MATLAS may be a valid tool to assist with multidisciplinary assessment of such patients.

The effects of transferring 28 long-stay chronically mentally ill patients from a psychiatric hospital to community placements was evaluated. The Rehabilitation Evaluation Hall and Baker (REHAB; Baker & Hall, 1983) scale was used to assess clients' adaptive and maladaptive behavioural functioning at 12, 18 and 24 month intervals following the hospital baseline. Social contacts and inpatient readmissions were also assessed. The results showed that clients' general adaptive functioning and maladaptive behaviour, on average, remained stable across the hospital baseline and two year follow-up period. Clients with frequent social contacts were found to have significantly better adjustment on a number of the REHAB subscales and those who exhibited more maladaptive behaviour were more likely to be readmitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit. Overall the results were encouraging with relatively low readmission rates, however, approximately 10% of clients showed significant difficulty adjusting in the community. The implications of the findings for chronically mentally ill people and suggestions for community programmes are discussed.