Facilitative interpersonal skills in benign versus challenging therapy situations in trainee therapists: a pilot study

Submitted: May 30, 2024
Accepted: August 22, 2024
Published: August 26, 2024
Abstract Views: 56
PDF: 24
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Therapists’ responses to challenging therapy situations on the Facilitative Interpersonal Skills (FIS) performance task are a significant predictor of therapists’ differences in treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess whether the complexity of the therapy situation influenced the facilitative interpersonal skills of trainees. Trainee therapists (n=46) participated in an experiment in which they responded to a set of challenging and benign (i.e., non-challenging) video vignettes of therapy situations of the FIS performance task. Their responses were video recorded and coded by four independent raters. Results showed that trainees scored significantly higher on the FIS performance task responding to benign therapy situations than responding to challenging situations. This is the first study to investigate difficulty of therapy situations as a potential predictor or trainees interpersonal skills. Further research is needed to replicate these results in a larger sample.

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How to Cite

de Jong, K., Wilkens, J., Anderson, T., & Steggles, K. (2024). Facilitative interpersonal skills in benign <i>versus</i> challenging therapy situations in trainee therapists: a pilot study. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2024.804

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