Training of psychotherapists.

Abstract

Psychotherapy training is experiencing conflicting messages: escalating criticism of conventional training at a time of unprecedented success in training competent practitioners. This paradox sets the context for this overview of psychotherapy training. In the first part of the paper, I summarize eight lessons learned in the past two decades on improving training: demonstrate and illustrate psychotherapy; furnish ample and diverse experiences; coordinate the training process; impart technical and interpersonal skills; establish competence; account for individual differences; cultivate respect for empirical research; and evaluate training outcomes. These serve as both sobering lessons from past deficiencies and as continuing challenges for the future of psychotherapy training. In the second part of the paper, I briefly advance several models for training in psychotherapy integration, the mental health zeitgeist of the 1990's and beyond. The net result is not necessarily self-identified eclectic or integrative practitioners, but knowledgeable graduates who will approach patients with an open mind, an insatiable curiosity, and a relentless commitment to confront the complexities of human behavior.