Clinical psychology trainees outperform experienced therapists on knowledge and skills

Conducted in Germany, this study pitched undergrad psychology students, postgrad clinical psychology trainees and experienced psychological therapists against each other on tests of psychological knowledge and skills. The slightly worrying result is that the trainees aced it, outperforming not just the students (on most tests) but also the experienced therapists. "The picture is not so bright" for the seasoned therapists, the researchers said. "Our results point to a decrease in knowledge and variability in clinical competence." The research led by Sabine Vollmer had two parts. The first involved 55 novice, intermediate and advanced students, 15 graduate trainee therapists, and 15 experienced therapists who'd been working in the profession for at least 10 years. In terms of basic psychological knowledge, it was the students who came out on top, presumably because they were currently immersed in learning the basics of the discipline. In applying psychological knowledge to clinical psychology, the intermediate students beat the novice students, and they matched the advanced students, trainees and seasoned therapists, all of whom performed at a similar level. On clinical knowledge, the trainee therapists came out tops, beating all the students and the experienced therapists. Another challenge involved the participants reading about two client case studies (one was social phobia, the other was OCD), then they had to recall the important details, as well as explain and...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs