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Areas of Research

Our research focuses broadly on the development and evaluation of generalizable strategies for implementing high-quality, sustained CBT and other evidence-based practices in community care. Areas of particular interest include:

  • development of more pragmatic methods to evaluate competence and fidelity in community mental health care
  • strategies to support the sustainability of evidence-based practices
  • the role of technology in broadening access to evidence-based practices
  • adaptation of evidence-based practices for the needs and strengths of specific levels of care, client presentations, and cultures
  • strategies for increasing access to evidence-based practices in low- and middle-income countries

Below are a selection of publications and presentations related to the Penn Collaborative:

Creed, T.A., Oziel, R., Reich, D., Thomas, M., O'Connor, S., Imel, Z.E., Hirsch, T., Narayanan, S., & Atkins, D.C.: Knowledge and Attitudes toward an Artificial Intelligence-Based Fidelity Measurement in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Supervision  Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. May 2022

Calloway, A., Mora Ringle, V., Reich, D., Oziel, R., & Creed, T.A.: Mental Health Stakeholder Perspectives of Evidence Based Practices in a Publicly Funded Community Setting  In A. Sanchez (Chair), Utilizing Stakeholder Input to Improve Evidence-Based Practices. Symposium to be presented at the 55th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, New Orleans, LA.   2021 Note: Symposium selected for sponsorship by the Dissemination and Implementation Special Interest Group (DIS-SIG) of ABCT.

Chen, Z., Flemotomos, N., Ardulov, V., Creed, T.A., Imel, Z.E., Atkins, D.C., & Narayanan, S.: Feature Fusion Strategies for End-to-End Evaluation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Sessions  Paper submitted for presentation at the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, Expo Guadalajara, Mexico. October 2021.

Flemotomos, N., Martinez, V.R., Chen, Z., Creed, T.A., Atkins, D.C., & Narayanan, S.: Automated quality assessment of CBT sessions through highly contextualized language representations. PLosOne.  October 2021

Chen, Z., Creed, T.a., Atkins, D.A., & Narayanan, S.: Hierarchical transformers for automated quality evaluation of psychotherapy conversations. Paper submitted for presentation at the Association for Computational Linguistics and Asian Federation of Natural Language Processing (ACL-IJCNLP), Bangkok, Thailand. August 2021.

Calloway, A., & Creed, T.A. Enhancing CBT Consultation with Multicultural Counseling Principles. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. July 2021

Creed, T.A., Crane, M., Calloway, A., Olino, T.M., Kendall, P.C., & Wiltsey Stirman, S. An Examination of Changes in Attitudes and Competence throughout a Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training in Community Mental Health. Implementation Research and Practice. July 2021

Chen, A., Flemotos, N., Singla, K., Creed, T.A., Atkins, D.C., & Narayanan, S.: An automated quality evaluation framework of psychotherapy conversations with local quality estimates. Computer, Speech, and Language June 2021

Stirman, S.W., Song, J., Johnson, C., Beristainos, M., & Creed, T.A.: Implementation of Evidence-based Psychotherapy: a Closer Look at the Key Players. Discussant for symposium presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), Virtual Conference (due to COVID19) March 2021.

Creed, T.A., Stirman, S.W., Young, S.J., & Ramirez, V.A.: An Introduction to Implementation Science for Anxiety / Depression Researchers and Community Partners. Workshop presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), Virtual Conference (due to Covid19) March 2021.

Creed, T.A., Waltman, S.H., & Williston, M.A.: Establishing a Collaborative Care CBT Milieu in Adolescent Inpatient Units. Cognitive Therapy and Research 2020 Notes: doi: 10.1007/s10608-020-10134-z.

Crane, M. E., Calloway, A., Stirman S. W., Olino, T. M., Kendall, P. C., & Creed, T. A.: An Examination of Changes in Attitudes and Competence Throughout a Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training in Community Mental Health. Poster presented at 13th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation, Washington, D.C. December 2020.

Johnson, C., Lane, J., Sijercic, I., Shields, N., Gutner, C., Creed, T., Marques, L., Monson, C., Stirman, S.W.: Agreement between observer- and self-reported adaptations to cognitive behavioral therapies for PTSD, depression and anxiety. In C. Johnson (Chair), Adaptations to improve access and quality of evidence-based treatments: Processes for selecting, reporting, and evaluating. Symposium presented at the 54th annual ABCT conference, Philadelphia, PA. November 2020.

Hernandez, S. M., Aajmain, S., Song, J., Johnson, C., Ison, J., Calloway, A., Dean, K., Aguilar Silvan, Y., Oziel, R., Bryant, C., Marques, L., Creed, T., & Wiltsey Stirman, S.: Barriers to Completing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Clients across Three Different Mental Health Systems.  Poster presented at the 54th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA November 2020.

Creed, T.A., Waltman, S.H., & Williston, M.A.: Establishing a Collaborative Care CBT Milieu in Adolescent Inpatient Units. In N.J. Leblanc (Chair), Adapting transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapies for novel settings. Symposium presented at the 54th annual ABCT conference, Philadelphia, PA. November 2020.

Creed, T.A., Marques, L., Gutner, C., Song, J., Johnson, C., Hernandez, S., Calloway, A., Bruant, C., Ison, J., Suvak, M., DeRubseis, R., Vogt, D., & Stirman, S.W.: Leveraging Routine Clinical Materials & Mobile Technology to Assess CBT Fidelity: the Innovative Methods to Assess Psychotherapy Practices (imAPP) Study In J. Sherrill (Chair), Pragmatic Strategies for Assessing Psychotherapy Quality in Practice: Balancing Rigor and Efficiency. Symposium presented at the 54th annual ABCT conference, Philadelphia, PA, November 2020.

Crane, M.E., Calloway, A., Stirman, S.W., Olino, T.M., Kendall, P.C., & Creed, T.A.: Negative pre-training attitudes about CBT are associated with less improvement in CBT competence following training. Poster presented at the 54th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA  November 2020 Notes: *Selected for the Student Poster Award for the Dissemination and Implementation Special Interest Group (DIS-SIG).

Wolk, C.B., Becker-Haimes, E.M., Fishman, J., Affrunti, N.W., Mandell, D.S., & Creed, T.A.: Variability in clinician intentions to implement specific cognitive-behavioral therapy components. BMC Psychiatry 51(1): 113-122, January 2020 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2019.05.008.

Goldberg, S.G., Baldwin, S.A., Merced, K., Imel, Z.E., Atkins, D.C., & Creed, T.A.: The structure of competence: Evaluating the factor structure of the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale. Behavior Therapy 2019 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2019.05.008.

Gibson, J., Atkins, D., Creed, T.A., Imel, Z., Georgiou, P., & Narayanan, S.: Multi-label Multi-task Deep Learning for Behavioral Coding. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing 2019. doi: 10.1109/TAFFC.2019.2952113.

Becker-Haimes, E.M., Lushin, V., Creed, T.A. & Beidas, R.S. Characterizing the heterogeneity of clinician practice use in community mental health using latent profile analysis. BMC Psychiatry 19, 257 (2019). doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2234-0

McFarr, L., Waltman, S., Hall, B., & Creed, T.A.: In-session stuck points and pitfalls of community clinicians learning CBT: A qualitative investigation. Invited symposium presented at the World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies July 2019.

Wolk, C.B., Becker-Haimes, E.M., Fishman, J. et al. Variability in clinician intentions to implement specific cognitive-behavioral therapy components. BMC Psychiatry 19, 406 (2019). doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2394-y.

Creed, T.A.: Implementation science: Translating science to practice across diverse settings.  Clinical round table presented at the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), Chicago, IL, March 2019.

Affrunti, N.W., & Creed, T.A. (2019). The factor structure of the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS) in a sample of community mental health clinicians. Cognitive Therapy and Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-09998-7

Creed, T.A. & Centeno, D. Creating a shared lens and shared language in a multidisciplinary treatment team: Implementation of CBT in adolescent inpatient treatment milieus. In Youn, Soo Jeong (Chair). Adaptations to enhance implementation outcomes: Examples across diverse settings, populations, and interventions. Symposium presented at the 11th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation, Washington DC, December 2018.

Creed, T.A. Promoting sustainability in community mental health: The Sustained Implementation Plan (SIP). In Asnaani, Anu (Chair). Out of the ivory tower, and into the real world: Effectiveness and sustainability of CBT in naturalistic settings. Symposium presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, Washington DC, November 2018.

Affrunti, N.W., Pinedo-Vargas, P., Wolk, C. B., & Creed, T. Community Clinician Attitudes toward Evidence-Based Practice during Sustained Implementation. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, Washington, DC, November 2018.

Becker-Haimes, E. M., Lushin, V., Creed, T. A., & Beidas, R. S. Using Latent Profile Analysis to Characterize Clinician Practices in Community Settings. In Becker-Haimes, E. M. (Chair). Implications of a Complex Behavioral Health Workforce for Implementing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Challenges and Potential Solutions. Symposium presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Convention, Washington, DC, November 2018.                                                                                                                                   
La Bash, H., Johnson, C., Marques, L., Creed, T., Gutner, C., DeRubeis, R., Kuhn, E., Mallard, K., Affrunti, N., Canale, C., Youn, S. J., & Wiltsey Stirman, S. An Innovative Fidelity Scoring Mechanism: Development of a Method to Score CBT Fidelity Based on Worksheets. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, Washington DC, November 2018.

Gibson, J., Atkins, D., Creed, T.A., Imel, Z., Georgiou, P., & Narayanan, S.: Multi-label Multi-task Deep Learning for Behavioral Coding. Transactions on Affective Computing. arXiv:1810.12349, October 2018.

Stirman, S.W., Marques, L., Creed, T.A., Gutner, C.A., DeRubeis, R.J., Barnett, P., Kuhn, E., Suvak, M., Owen, J., Jo, B., Schoenwald, S., Johnson, C., Mallard, K., Beristianos, M.,& La Bash, H. (2018). Leveraging routine clinical materials and mobile technology to assess CBT fidelity: The innovative methods to assess psychotherapy practices (imAPP) study. Implementation Science, 13, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-018-0756-3.

Flemotomos, N., Martinez, V., Gibson, J., Atkins, D., Creed, T., & Narayanan, S. (2018, September) Language features for automated evaluation of cognitive behavior psychotherapy sessions. Paper presented at Interspeech, Hyderabad, India, September 2018.

Waltman, S.H., Hall, B.C., McFarr, L.M., & Creed, T.A. (2018). Clinical Case Consultation and Experiential Learning in CBT Implementation: Brief qualitative investigation. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 32, 112-126.

Becker-Haimes, E. M., Lushin, V., Creed, T.A., & Beidas, R.S. Characterizing the heterogeneity of clinician practice use in community mental health settings using latent profile analysis. Poster presented at the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Future Directions Forum, Washington, DC, June 2018.

Affruni, N.W., Carden, N., Cassano, M., & Creed, T.A. Moving Beyond Silos: the Infusion of CBT in a Multidisciplinary Setting. Paper presented to the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, Harrisburg, PA, June 2018.

German, R. E., Adler. A., Frankel, S. A., Stirman, S. W., Evans, A. C., Beck, A. T., & Creed, T. A. (2017). Testing a web-based training and peer support model to build capacity for evidence-based practice in community mental health. Psychiatric Services. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201700029

Creed, T.A., Rosenbaum, D.L., & Centeno, D.C. (2017). Understanding and targeting attrition in implementation of Evidence Based Practices: A CBT Case Study. The Behavior Therapist, 40, 267-272.

Creed, T.A. Making your EBP Stick for the Long Haul: An Overview of the Beck Community Initiative with an Emphasis on Sustainability. Presented as part of a Symposium: Bringing Evidence Based Practices to the People: the Philadelphia Story (Lawrence A. Real, Chair). Presented to IPS: The Mental Health Services Conference of the American Psychiatric Association, New Orleans, LA, October 2017.

Stirman, S.W., Pontoski, K., Xhezo, R., Evans, A.C., Beck, A.T., Crits-Christoph, P., & Creed, T.A. (2017). A non-randomized comparison of strategies for consultation in a community-academic training program to implement an evidence-based psychotherapy. Administration and Policy in Mental Health Services and Mental Health Services Research. DOI 10.1007/s10488-015-0700-7

Waltman, S.H., Hall, B., McFarr, L., Beck, A.T., & Creed, T.A. (2017). In-session stuck points and pitfalls of community clinicians learning CBT: A qualitative investigation. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 24, 256-267.. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2016.04.002

Stirman, S.W., Pontoski, K., Xhezo, R., Evans, A.C., Beck, A.T., Crits-Christoph, P., & Creed, T.A. (2017). A non-randomized comparison of strategies for consultation in a community-academic training program to implement an evidence-based psychotherapy. Administration and Policy in Mental Health Services and Mental Health Services Research. DOI 10.1007/s10488-015-0700-7

Creed, T.A., Frankel, S.A., German, R., Green, K.L., Jager-Hyman, S., Pontoski, K., Adler, A., Wolk, C.B., Stirman, S.W., Waltman, S.H., Williston, M.A., Sherrill, R., Evans, A.C., & Beck. A.T. (2016). Implementation of transdiagnostic cognitive therapy in diverse community settings: The Beck Community Initiative. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000105

Riggs, S. & Creed, T.A. (2016) A model to transform treatment for psychosis using CBT informed interventions for the mental health milieu. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Waltman, S.H., Hall, B., McFarr, L., Beck, A.T., & Creed, T.A. (2016). In-session stuck points and pitfalls of community clinicians learning CBT: A qualitative investigation. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 

Pontoski, K., Jager-Hyman, S., Cunningham, A., Sposato, R., Schultz, L., Evans, A.C., Beck, A.T., & Creed, T.A. (2016). Using a Cognitive Behavioral framework to train staff serving individuals who experience chronic homelessness. Journal of Community Psychology, 44,674-680.

Sokol. L., McFarr, L., Landes, S., Waltman, S.H., Creed, T.A., & Patel, U.N. Implementation of Cognitive Behavior Therapy in the public mental health system: Clinical, administrative, and economic considerations for sustainable implementation. Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavior and Cognitive Therapies, New York, NY, October 2016.

Creed, T.A., Benjamin, C., Feinberg, B., Evans, A.C., & Beck, A.T. (2016). Beyond the Label: Relationship between community therapists’ self-report of a cognitive-behavioral therapy orientation and observed skills. Administration and Policy in Mental Health Services Research, 43, 36-43. doi 10.1007/s10488-014-0618-5

Morales, K.., Caperton, D., Imel, Z., Atkins, D., & Creed, T.A. Variability in therapist adherence to cognitive-behavioral therapy in community behavioral health. Presented to the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Convention, New York, 2016.

Creed, T.A., Waltman, S.H., Frankel, S.A., & Williston, M.A. (2015). School-based cognitive behavioral therapy: Current status and alternative approaches.  Current Psychiatry Reviews, 11.

Wiltsey Stirman, S., Toder, K., Hurford M.O., Xhezo, R., Crits-Christoph, P., Beck, A.T., & Creed, T.A. (2015). System-level influences on the sustainability of a program to implement cognitive therapy in a community behavioral health system. Psychiatric Services, doi 10.1176/appi.ps.201400147.

Creed, T.A., Wiltsey-Stirman, S., Evans, A.C., & Beck, A.T. (2014). A model for implementation of cognitive therapy in community mental health: The Beck Initiative. The Behavior Therapist, 37, 56-64.

Creed, T.A., Jager-Hyman, S., Pontoski, K., Feinberg, B., Rosenberg, Z., Evans, A.C., Hurford, M.O., & Beck, A.T. (2013). The Beck Initiative: A strength-based approach to training school-based mental health staff in cognitive therapy. International Journal of Emotional Education, 5, 49-66.

Stirman, S.W., Gutierrez,-Colina, A., Toder, K., Esposito, G., Barg, F., Castro, F., Beck, A.T., & Crits-Christoph, P. (2013). Clinicians' perspectives on Cognitive Therapy in community mental health settings: Implications for training and implementation. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 40, 274-285.

Stirman, S.W., Calloway, A., Toder, K., Miller, C.J., DeVito, A.K., Meisel, S.N., Xhezo, R., Evans, A.C., Beck, A.T., & Crits-Christoph, P., (2013). Modifications to Cognitive Therapy by Community Mental Health Providers: Implications for Effectiveness and Sustainability. Psychiatric Services, 64, 1056-1059.

Wiltsey Stirman, S., Bhar, S., Spokas, M., Brown, G., Creed, T.A., Perivoliotis, D., Farabaugh, D., Grant, P., & Beck, A.T. (2010). Training and consultation in evidence based psychosocial treatments in public mental health settings: The ACCESS model. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41, 48-56.

Other published chapters and editorials:

Creed, T. (2016). Increasing access to high-fidelity Cognitive Therapy for underserved populations. American Psychological Association Division 12: Society of Clinical Psychology Clinical Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.div12.org/category/clinical-bulletin/.

Waltman, S. H., Williston, M. A., & Creed, T. A. (2015, March). Transporting evidence-based practices to public health settings. [Web Article]. Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. Retrieved from http://www.societyforpsychotherapy.org/transporting-evidence-based-practices-to-public-health-settings.

Creed, T.A., Evans, A.C., & Beck, A.T. (2014, April). Bringing evidence-based practice to community based behavioral health: The Beck Initiative. Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal, 18, retrieved from http://www.philasocialinnovations.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=648:bringing-evidence-based-practice-to-community-based-behavioral-health-the-beck-initiative&catid=20:what-works-and-what-doesnt&Itemid=31

Benjamin, C.L., Pontoski Taylor, K., Goodin, S.M., & Creed, T.A. (2014). Exemplar DI Projects in Schools: Depression. Child and Adolescent Therapy: Dissemination and Implementation of Empirically Supported Treatments. New York: Oxford University Press.

Riggs, S.E., Wiltsey-Stirman, S., & Beck, A.T. (2012). Training community mental health agencies in cognitive therapy for schizophrenia. The Behavior Therapist, 35, 34-39.

Stirman, S.W., Buchhofer, R., McLaughlin, J.B., Evans, A.C., & Beck, A.T. (2009). The Beck Initiative: A partnership to implement cognitive therapy in a community behavioral health system. Psychiatric Services, 60, 1302-1304.

Books: 

Creed, T., Reisweber, J., & Beck, A.T. (2011). Cognitive therapy for adolescents in school settings. New York: Guildford Press.


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