A New Psychotherapy Training Program

Psychotherapy training programs require a uniform introduction to psychotherapy that presents the basic, generic concepts common to the major schools in a time-efficient manner. The program described in this article fits these criteria. The program has been initiated at seven residency training programs in the United States. The authors describe the six modules comprising the program—verbal response modes and intentions, working alliance, inducing patterns, change, resistance, and transference and countertransference. The authors also report preliminary results of the program evaluation (N = 15) from the University of Missouri-Columbia. By using a well-researched measure of trainee self-confidence as psychotherapist (The Counselor Self-Estimate Inventory), the authors report a statistically significant increase in trainee self-confidence beginning and maintained after Module 4. The authors conclude that this training shows promise as a standard introduction to psychotherapy for psychiatric residents.