CBT training programmes increasingly emphasise widening participation and workforce sustainability; however, limited research has explored how neurodivergent trainees and practitioners experience the academic and pedagogical structures through which CBT competence is developed and assessed. This study examined how neurodivergence, specifically the author’s dyslexia and dyspraxia, shaped engagement with CBT training, academic assessment, and pedagogical leadership, and considered implications for inclusive and authentic competence development. A critical autoethnographic approach was employed, drawing on reflective narratives situated within neurodiversity theory, experiential learning models, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks. Four interconnected themes emerged: (1) academic norms functioning as structural barriers to competence demonstration; (2) the hidden emotional and cognitive labour of navigating academic systems; (3) neurodivergent strengths within experiential learning and clinical formulation; and (4) transformation of lived experience into inclusive pedagogical redesign within CBT training programmes. The barriers described here reflect systemic misalignment between traditional academic structures and experiential competence development rather than individual deficit; while grounded in dyslexic and dyspraxic experience, they may resonate across neurodivergence. UDL-informed curriculum design and diversified assessment approaches may enhance accessibility, authenticity of competence evaluation, and workforce sustainability within CBT education.

Key learning aims

1. (1) To understand how neurodivergent identity shapes experiences of CBT training and academic engagement.

2. (2) To recognise systemic academic barriers affecting neurodivergent CBT trainees and practitioners.

3. (3) To explore the role of experiential learning and inclusive pedagogy in supporting diverse learners.

4. (4) To identify implications for assessment design and curriculum development within CBT training programmes.

This study uses data from 717 Church of England lay leaders collected by the online Church 2024 survey. Lay leaders were defined as churchwardens, officers of a Parochial Church Council (PCC) or leaders of church groups such as children’s, music, choir or home groups. The study assesses leader’s perceptions of stress, support, training and likelihood of finding replacements for their role. Although most lay leaders indicated low levels of stress, 34% agreed they were often stressed, 21% that they felt overwhelmed by administration and 23% that they would give up if there was someone else to do their role. The four-item Lay Leader Stress Scale assesses role-related stress levels in relation to personal, psychological, contextual and ecclesial factors. Stress was higher among those with a disposition to emotional volatility (neuroticism), Anglo-Catholics, PCC officers and those with more than one lay leadership role. It was lower among Evangelicals and those in larger congregations. Most respondents felt well supported by their clergy and congregations, but most PCC officers (especially churchwardens and secretaries) felt ill-prepared for their roles and that their church would struggle to replace them. Implications for churches in the light of the fragile church hypothesis are discussed.

This report highlights the design, implementation, and key lessons from the William Schnaper Visiting Scientist (WSVS) Program, developed to foster scientific exchange among predoctoral and postdoctoral Translational Science (TS) Trainees across Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs. Trainees were part of TL1 and T32 CTSA programs funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The WSVS program includes three complementary training opportunities: Mini-Symposium, Debate Forum, and Grand Rounds (GR) which is the subject of this report. The GR program provides advanced trainees with opportunities to present their research at another CTSA institution through a virtual forum, offering national-level exposure and constructive feedback from experts. In addition to formal presentations, participants engage in personalized, one-on-one meetings with faculty members at the host institution, gaining insights into other academic cultures and expanding their professional networks. We surveyed trainees and host institutions who participated in the program using single-and multiple-response items, Likert scales, and short open-text response questions. Survey respondents were overwhelmingly positive; all trainees recommended the program to peers and affirmed the value of the program. This demonstrates a scalable approach to enhancing TS education, advancing professional development, and promoting a more interconnected biomedical research community.

The Cynics, especially Diogenes of Sinope, reportedly enjoyed ‘leisure’ (σχολή) even as they recommended toilsome ‘training’ (ἄσκησις). This paper aims to show that these seemingly opposite motifs are, in fact, closely interrelated, and that ‘leisure’ has implications for the whole scheme of Cynicism that have previously been overlooked. We can understand the connection between these motifs in two ways: first, what drives one to engage in unceasing labour is excessive desire, from which Cynic training frees one, bringing about leisure; second, Cynic leisure is always open to the outside world; it functions as a provocative performance that can, albeit occasionally, urge potential Cynics towards training.

Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) produce educational content spanning the continuum of clinical and translational research. However, the way in which this content is organized should be standardized. We describe our methodology and process for re-organizing the content in our hub’s Online Educational Library (OEL) using eight clinical research professional competency domains. We also analyze data from our OEL on viewership and related factors. Users were more likely to watch videos that were newer and hosted on YouTube. The public availability of competency categories had mixed effects on viewership. We discuss the need to refine these categories to improve video viewership in CTSA OELs.

The 2025 report by the Association for Clinical Research Professionals summarizes the state of crisis for the global clinical research workforce and proposes key solutions. These include increased awareness of clinical research professions, access to jobs through expanded training and internships, and advancement opportunities for professional staff and site support. To increase access to these professions, multiple Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) expanded training programs and internships leveraging approaches described in this manuscript, and in some cases, established formal apprenticeships in their respective States. This manuscript summarizes direct experiences of nine Clinical and Translational Science Award Centers for decreasing the barriers to entry into the clinical research profession, specifically focusing on clinical research coordinator role. This special communication describes methods for increased awareness, establishing training/internship opportunities, while addressing internal and external collaborations, administrative barriers, and funding necessary to implement an innovative pathway program. The authors hope that this material will be valuable to other AMCs that wish to undertake development of similar programs.

Psychiatry on call occupies a distinct and formative space within mental health services, shaped by moments of uncertainty, responsibility, and relational decision-making. In Ireland, non-consultant hospital doctors continue to deliver the majority of out-of-hours emergency psychiatric care, often as the sole on-site psychiatric clinician, working across multiple settings and managing high levels of clinical and organisational risk. This paper situates contemporary psychiatry on call within its wider clinical, societal, and service context, drawing on the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland’s 2025 position paper and emerging evidence on emergency mental health care. We argue that emergency psychiatry differs from other acute specialties, being characterised by distress rather than disease, uncertainty rather than diagnosis, and time-intensive relational work rather than protocol-driven intervention. Rising demand reflects broader systemic pressures, including unmet social need, reduced inpatient capacity, uneven crisis alternatives, and increasing regulatory burden. We examine the service-user experience of out-of-hours care, highlighting issues of environment, equity, trust, and safety, particularly for marginalised groups. While high-quality supervision and training remain essential, we contend that sustainable improvement requires system-level reform, including strengthened multidisciplinary crisis responses, clearer role delineation, and coordinated investment in and also beyond mental health services. Attending to psychiatry on call offers a critical lens through which to understand and improve emergency mental health care for both clinicians and service users.

Mental healthcare respecting human rights is a worldwide need, yet research into practices that support such rights is limited. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 and the United Nations Resolution on mental health and psychosocial support, 2023 each heighten the urgency and the legal, as well as moral, social, political and other obligations to improve the quality of mental healthcare and respect human rights worldwide. It is useful to be specific about the actions to be taken, as done in recent programmes by the World Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization. The work requires partnerships at all levels, from global to local, among healthcare professionals, people with lived experience and their families, communities and policy-makers. We present a themed series of papers developed in two parts: one related to principles of human rights-based mental healthcare; the other to assessment, policy and actions needed for tackling the implementation gap.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a widely recommended, evidence-based modality. Cost-effective interventions such as CBT are particularly valuable in low- and middle-income countries, which typically have considerable resource constraints and service delivery challenges. Despite its benefits, CBT remains under-utilised by clinical psychology practitioners in South Africa, possibly due to poor perceived self-competence of practitioners. We employed a qualitative exploratory design to explore student clinical psychologists’ perceived self-competence in delivering CBT in their first year of masters studies at one university in South Africa, using once-off individual semi-structured interviews (n=5). Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, following an inductive-deductive approach. We identified two over-arching themes: (1) Training experiences shape perceived self-competence in CBT, and (2) Making sense of competence and readiness for practice. The findings suggest that perceived self-competence in CBT is shaped by training experiences, with supportive supervision, practical application, and positive client outcomes enhancing confidence. Limited prior exposure to CBT, rigid teaching approaches, and inconsistent feedback created challenges in developing self-competence which seemed to influence decisions about using CBT in practice. The findings provide important insights regarding the gaps in CBT training in South Africa, which may influence the use and uptake of CBT by future clinical psychologists. These findings highlight the importance of training environments that promote flexibility, experiential learning, expert supervision and constructive feedback in developing competence in evidence-based interventions. Further research is needed to establish whether these issues are shared amongst trainee students at other universities.

Key learning aims

1. Readers of this paper will be able to:

   1. (1) Identify factors influencing self-perception of CBT competence.

   2. (2) Understand how CBT training occurs as part of a Master of Clinical Psychology programme in South Africa.

   3. (3) Understand how the perception that CBT is rigid hinders CBT implementation.