Tao Lin, Timothy Anderson, Eva Antebi-Lerman, Jordan Bate, Katie Aafjes-van Doorn
{"title":"Efficacy of facilitative interpersonal and relational skills training for teletherapy: A randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Tao Lin, Timothy Anderson, Eva Antebi-Lerman, Jordan Bate, Katie Aafjes-van Doorn","doi":"10.1037/ccp0000934","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Therapists report a lack of confidence and competence in teletherapy compared to in-person therapy. Training focusing on teletherapy skills is scarce. This study reports on (a) the development of a training workshop for facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) in teletherapy (tele-FIRST) and (b) a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of tele-FIRST. Tele-FIRST is a 2-hr online synchronous training workshop that incorporates didactics, deliberate practice, simulation of teletherapy challenges, modeling, and discussion.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A set of tele-FIS stimulus clips that depict four types of teletherapy challenges (e.g., emotional disconnection, distraction) was used to evaluate and train therapists' teletherapy skills. A total of 182 licensed therapists and trainees were randomized into either the tele-FIRST or a waitlist group. Of these, 153 participants completed baseline assessment and were included in the final analyses (tele-FIRST: <i>n</i> = 82; waitlist: <i>n</i> = 71). At baseline, posttraining, and follow-up, participants were assessed on their observer-rated FIS for teletherapy, self-reported FIS, teletherapy skills, acceptance of teletherapy, and self-efficacy.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Therapists demonstrated increased teletherapy skills following the tele-FIRST workshop. After controlling for baseline scores, the tele-FIRST group demonstrated significantly higher observer-rated tele-FIS (η<i><sub>p</sub></i>² = .134), self-reported FIS (η<i><sub>p</sub></i>² = .106), teletherapy skills (η<sub><i>p</i></sub>² = .037), acceptance of teletherapy technology (η<i><sub>p</sub></i>² = .082), and self-efficacy (η<sub><i>p</i></sub>² = .036) compared to the waitlist group at posttraining.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The tele-FIRST demonstrated significant short-term effects on enhancing therapists' teletherapy skills as rated by both independent observers and therapists themselves. Tele-FIRST may improve the quality of teletherapy, though more research is needed to investigate its long-term effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":15447,"journal":{"name":"Journal of consulting and clinical psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of consulting and clinical psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000934","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Therapists report a lack of confidence and competence in teletherapy compared to in-person therapy. Training focusing on teletherapy skills is scarce. This study reports on (a) the development of a training workshop for facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) in teletherapy (tele-FIRST) and (b) a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of tele-FIRST. Tele-FIRST is a 2-hr online synchronous training workshop that incorporates didactics, deliberate practice, simulation of teletherapy challenges, modeling, and discussion.
Method: A set of tele-FIS stimulus clips that depict four types of teletherapy challenges (e.g., emotional disconnection, distraction) was used to evaluate and train therapists' teletherapy skills. A total of 182 licensed therapists and trainees were randomized into either the tele-FIRST or a waitlist group. Of these, 153 participants completed baseline assessment and were included in the final analyses (tele-FIRST: n = 82; waitlist: n = 71). At baseline, posttraining, and follow-up, participants were assessed on their observer-rated FIS for teletherapy, self-reported FIS, teletherapy skills, acceptance of teletherapy, and self-efficacy.
Results: Therapists demonstrated increased teletherapy skills following the tele-FIRST workshop. After controlling for baseline scores, the tele-FIRST group demonstrated significantly higher observer-rated tele-FIS (ηp² = .134), self-reported FIS (ηp² = .106), teletherapy skills (ηp² = .037), acceptance of teletherapy technology (ηp² = .082), and self-efficacy (ηp² = .036) compared to the waitlist group at posttraining.
Conclusion: The tele-FIRST demonstrated significant short-term effects on enhancing therapists' teletherapy skills as rated by both independent observers and therapists themselves. Tele-FIRST may improve the quality of teletherapy, though more research is needed to investigate its long-term effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology® (JCCP) publishes original contributions on the following topics: the development, validity, and use of techniques of diagnosis and treatment of disordered behaviorstudies of a variety of populations that have clinical interest, including but not limited to medical patients, ethnic minorities, persons with serious mental illness, and community samplesstudies that have a cross-cultural or demographic focus and are of interest for treating behavior disordersstudies of personality and of its assessment and development where these have a clear bearing on problems of clinical dysfunction and treatmentstudies of gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation that have a clear bearing on diagnosis, assessment, and treatmentstudies of psychosocial aspects of health behaviors. Studies that focus on populations that fall anywhere within the lifespan are considered. JCCP welcomes submissions on treatment and prevention in all areas of clinical and clinical–health psychology and especially on topics that appeal to a broad clinical–scientist and practitioner audience. JCCP encourages the submission of theory–based interventions, studies that investigate mechanisms of change, and studies of the effectiveness of treatments in real-world settings. JCCP recommends that authors of clinical trials pre-register their studies with an appropriate clinical trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, ClinicalTrialsRegister.eu) though both registered and unregistered trials will continue to be considered at this time.