Effects of Deliberate Practice and Structured Feedback in Psychotherapy Training – an extended study (DeeP II)

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Bernhard Strauß; Professorin Dr. Svenja Taubner
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 496052338

The present proposal builds on the intensive preliminary work of a project funded by the German Research Foundation. These include a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to assess the effectiveness of Deliberate Practice and Structured Feedback with regard to the increase in relational competences in psychotherapy trainees for the first time. The present application is intended to expand the knowledge gained from this preliminary work and, among other things, transfer the research question to the university context. The development of interpersonal skills is a central aspect of psychotherapy training and is crucial to ensuring and improving the quality of therapy. Education and training have a special responsibility to provide prospective psychotherapists with a broad and solid competence base as a prerequisite for effective therapeutic action. Some studies suggest that certain didactic methods are particularly effective for gaining competence. Deliberate Practice (small-scale and repetitive practice with clearly formulated learning objectives) and Structured Feedback have proven to be particularly promising training methods. However, there is a lack of qualitative and integrative approaches in research, in which user experiences are included. This prevents a complete assessment of the learning elements and consideration of the wishes and needs of the trainees. The stability of the learning effects has also been insufficiently investigated to date. Finally, the fact that training and further education for psychotherapists in Germany has recently been restructured should be taken into account for future competence development. As part of the reorganization and in preparation for the new license exam, learning methods should also be adapted to the new circumstances and supported by empirical data. This renewal proposal aims to address the aforementioned research questions and gaps. To this end, the ongoing DFG project is to be expanded to include the following aspects: 1) a qualitative survey of the user experience, 2) the integration of a further follow-up measurement point to investigate the long-term effects of the didactic methods, 3) adaptation of the RCT to the university context and implementation in the new master program. The aim is to examine possible adaptations for the new educational context and the effectiveness of interpersonal skills training as part of the degree program. The projects in this application intend to provide important information to support the further development of the new master program and psychotherapy training through empirical research.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants