Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Tools for Clients With Limited Functional Literacy

The current article describes the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral interventions in treating a variety of mental and behavioral health concerns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBTs) are collaborative and empirically based, and make use of client data in order to assist people in making quick and clinically meaningful change. CBT clinicians are likely to have a sizeable portion of clients who struggle with literacy. The effectiveness of CBT may be reduced because of limited literacy. Our own clinical work suggests more attention should be paid to this underserved population and to creating CBT materials that can be readily utilized with clients who struggle with literacy. We hope others will join us in sharing resources and adaptations that have been effective with other clinicians so access to this family of evidence-based treatments is not limited to just those who can read and comprehend well. The bulk of clinicians in our survey reported believing limited literacy decreases the effectiveness of CBT for adult clients, and reported they would be less likely to provide psychoeducational handouts or tracking sheets and worksheets to clients who struggle with literacy.