Evaluation of a Psychotherapy Skills Training Program with Family Practice and Psychiatry Residents

Many individuals with mental health issues first discuss them with their family physicians, who provide initial assessment and may also be the primary resource for treatment. Nevertheless, physicians-in-training may find it challenging to address these needs within the confines of a busy practice and without training specific to addressing psychological issues with patients. It is, therefore, vital that residency programs equip trainees to examine psychological aspects of current and future practice. At Memorial University, psychology faculty at the Student Wellness and Counselling Centre provide a weekly interpersonal process recall seminar (IPR) to first-year medical residents. This inter-professional training includes three components 1) peer consultation discussion, including difficult and/or interesting patients, 2) didactic psychotherapy component, on topics such as motivational interviewing, diversity and stages of change and, 3) video review of standardized and real patient encounters, during which residents are provided with detailed feedback on their interactions with patients. During IPR, participants develop knowledge, confidence and competence to work effectively with a variety of patients from a psychological perspective. The opportunity to develop inter-professional relationships is a noteworthy additional benefit. This paper will provide a description of the IPR training program and student feedback regarding the experience. Residents were asked to complete a 48-item questionnaire that assessed residents’ attitudes to three distinct components of the 11-week course. The purpose of this research was to understand what aspects of the psychotherapy training were evaluated most highly by residents and why these specific aspects were valued.