Double trouble: Therapists with low facilitative interpersonal skills and without training have low in-session experiential processes

Objectives: This study examined the combined effect of therapist Facilitative Interpersonal Skills (FIS) and Training Status on experiential processes within therapy sessions. In this randomized trial of FIS and Training Status, we predicted that in-session experiential processes would be highest fo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychotherapy research 2022, Vol.32 (1), p.65-77
Main Authors: Anderson, Timothy, Stone, Suzannah J., Angus, Lynne, Weibel, David T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical interviews
common factors
experiential process
facilitative interpersonal skills
Humans
Medical screening
Professional-Patient Relations
Psychotherapy
Social Skills
Soft skills
Teams
therapist effects
Therapists
Therapy
Undergraduate students
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objectives: This study examined the combined effect of therapist Facilitative Interpersonal Skills (FIS) and Training Status on experiential processes within therapy sessions. In this randomized trial of FIS and Training Status, we predicted that in-session experiential processes would be highest for the high FIS and trained therapist group and lowest for the low FIS and untrained therapists. Methods: Forty-five clients were selected from 2,713 undergraduates using a screening and clinical interview procedure. Twenty-three therapists were selected for their level of FIS (high vs. low) and Training (trainee vs. untrained) and each were assigned two clients for seven sessions each. Two different coder teams independently rated experiencing and narrative process from the third therapy session and computer analysis identified affect words from transcripts. Results: FIS×Training Status significantly interacted on the set of experiential process measures. Relative to all others, therapists who were in the low FIS / no training group had lower experiencing and reflexive content, but higher external content. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of therapist characteristics within therapy sessions. Therapists without training and with low interpersonal skills have sessions that are nearly devoid of content that focuses on client experiential processes and emotion.
ISSN:1050-3307
1468-4381
DOI:10.1080/10503307.2021.1913293