Essential Skills for the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist

Abstract

There is a shortage of studies on essential skills for a cognitive-behavioral therapist in Latin America, so this study aims to conduct an integrative review of the existing literature in the region, since the development of professional skills is essential to strengthen clinical practice. A bibliographic survey was performed by mapping what has been published in the PsycINFO, LILACS, Scielo, and Pepsic databases. Eight articles were included in the final qualitative synthesis. Core competencies were categorized into analytical, social, instrumental, self-knowledge, and self-reflection skills. The main findings comprise the essential skills described in the articles. Among these, it is considered that the greatest contribution was in relation to social competencies, as a non-specific or general competence, necessary to all psychotherapies regardless of the basic theoretical orientation.

Keywords:
professional competence; therapists; cognitive-behavioral therapy