Selection of Candidates for Psychotherapy Training: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

New demands on the therapeutic psychologist and a new approach to the selection of candidates for postgraduate training in psychotherapy are explored. Intrapsychic approaches to selection are questioned, and a procedure based on interactional and communication approaches is devised and applied. Psychotherapy is described in terms of a conceptual structure including relationship dimensions, basic facilitative conditions, interviewing skills, group skills, and attitudinal components. On this basis a selection programme is applied. In vivo interpersonal situations where extensive use is made of ratings, are emphasized and statistical analyses of the data support the hypothesis that in vivo situations are realistic settings for the assessment of therapeutic potentialities. Rating procedures are found to be highly reliable. Interviewing skills, basic facilitative dimensions, internal frame of reference, and group proficiency, seem to be of prime importance in identifying potentialities for further training, and the feasibility of selecting candidates on the basis of measurable skills is advocated.