Duration: 6 Weeks
Weekly study: 2 hours

Understand a cognitive behavioural approach to manage ongoing low back pain

What topics will you cover?

• The nature and cause of persistent low back pain.
• The cognitive behavioural approach.
• Exercise and activity for low back pain.
• How thoughts and feelings can influence pain.
• Pain management skills.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:

Apply a cognitive behavioural approach to effectively help people better manage persistent low back pain.

Lead a group back skills training (BeST) programme in your clinical setting.

Reflect on how to implement these techniques in clinical practice.

Demonstrate understanding of a cognitive behavioural approach to managing persistent low back pain.

Who is the course for?

This course is approved by the British Psychological Society for the purposes of Continuing Professional Development for healthcare professionals. It is designed for healthcare professionals with a role or interest in managing patients with low back pain (including nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychological therapists).

It will also be useful for students training to become healthcare professionals. The Certificate of Achievement for this course would be useful for providing evidence of CPD.

What do people say about this course?

“The BeST training sets you apart from other clinicians by coaching you step by step on how to deliver cognitive-behavioural elements in your clinical practice.”

Senior NHS Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist.

“As clinicians we can be didactic and tell people what to do, whereas my take on the BeST programme was trying to get participants onto a self discovery journey really with their back pain.”

Therapist reflecting on the Back Skills Training Programme

Who will you learn with?

Pippa Nicolson

Pippa is a physiotherapist and researcher at the University of Oxford, focusing on the management of musculoskeletal conditions which affect older people.

Esther Williamson

Esther is a physiotherapist and researcher at the University of Oxford. She is Deputy-Director of the Centre for Rehabilitation Research.

Beth Fordham

Beth Fordham is a health psychology researcher. Beth aims to use psychological theory and practice to improve quality of life in physical and mental health conditions.

Zara Hansen

Zara is a physiotherapist and a cognitive behavioural therapist. She integrates the two professions through her research, clinical, and teaching work.

Who developed the course?

Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It has been at the forefront of understanding the world – and shaping it – for centuries.