EFFECTS OF DIDACTIC LECTURE, NOVICE AND EXPERT MODELS, AND SELF-OBSERVATION VIA VIDEOTAPE, ON THE ACQUISITION OF BASIC THERAPY SKILLS (PSYCHOTHERAPY, TRAINING, SUPERVISION, MODELING, MICROCOUNSELING)

Four methods of teaching minimal encourages, open-ended questions, and reflective statements were compared for effectiveness both in increasing the use of the skills and improving confidence and anxiety levels of the trainee. Subjects were 48 female psychology students with no prior training in counseling. They were randomly divided into four groups, which differed only as to which training tape they viewed: (1) an experienced therapist lecturing on the use of the skills, (2) an experienced therapist modeling the skills in a client interview, (3) a trainee attempting to use the skills with a client, or (4) the tape of the subject's own pretest interview. All groups also read a manual describing the three skills. Subjects interviewed one mock client before training and one after. Videotapes of the pretest and posttest interviews were compared for change in the use of the target skills. The Session Evaluation Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-State Scale, and a Subject Questionnaire designed for this study were completed by subjects after each interview and compared for changes in feelings during the interview and for satisfaction with training. From pretest to posttest, each group improved (p < .004) in use of listening skills. No groups improved significantly on any of the feelings measures. Although differences among groups did not reach the criterion set for significance, several trends emerged. Those observing the expert model showed greatest improvement of all groups in use of listening skills and reduction of anxiety. Those watching videotapes of their own work improved least of the four groups on all measures of both skill and feelings during the interviews. In contrast, they reported the most positive feelings about being videotaped and about the experiment. These findings cast some doubt on the claims made in the literature in praise of self-observation on videotape as a training tool for therapists, since it is clear that praise of the method does not necessarily coincide with improvement in either skill or confidence. The results support more widespread use of expert modeling than the literature indicates is currently done.