Competitive memory training

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Kees Korrelboom · 2009 · Netherlands

What it is

Competitive Memory Training (COMET) is a short, manualised, transdiagnostic CBT procedure developed by Kees Korrelboom in the Netherlands. It is usually run as an add-on to whatever treatment the client is already receiving. It rests on Brewin's retrieval-competition account of CBT: therapy does…

Format

• Format and dose (by version).
• Personality disorders version: 7 weekly group sessions alongside regular treatment.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Eating disorders version: 8 weekly group sessions of about 1.5 h, 6–8 patients, two co-therapists (a clinical psychologist and an art therapist with no prior CBT training), plus daily homework, alongside treatment as usual (TAU).
• Competitive Memory Training (COMET) is a short, manualised, transdiagnostic CBT procedure developed by Kees Korrelboom in the Netherlands. It is usually run as an add-on to whatever treatment the client is already receiving. It rests on Brewin's retrieval-competition account of CBT: therapy does not erase or directly change negative self-knowledge. It changes which of the competing self-representations is more…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Non-adherence; see section 5.
• Traumatic memories. Do not use these.
• The child treating it as a test. Keep it playful.
• Stopping all practice once the client feels better.
• Situations with real bullying risk. Choose safe ones and involve school if needed.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.