Web-centred training in psychological treatments: A study of therapist preferences☆

One barrier to the dissemination of evidence-based psychological treatments is the fact that few clinicians have received training in how to implement them. A potential solution is "web-centred training". For any training programme to be successful it must match the perceived needs of the trainee as otherwise there is likely to be poor compliance. As part of the groundwork for developing a web-centred training program, a questionnaire on training preferences was sent to 373 therapists who had expressed interest in the website, of whom 183 responded. Their top priorities were a clinically relevant website that demonstrated in detail how to implement the treatment. The overall characteristics and functioning of the website were also a major concern. There was little interest in being put in touch with others learning the treatment. These findings demonstrate the importance of surveying users' views in advance of and during the website development process.