The facilitative interpersonal skills method: Difficult psychotherapy moments and appropriate therapist responsiveness

Abstract

The Facilitative Interpersonal Skills (FIS) task is a performance test of therapists’ use of common relational skills (e.g. empathy, building expectations). The FIS method includes (a) materials that simulate difficult client moments on video, which are used to collect therapists’ responses to these situations; and (b) independent ratings of these responses. Many of the FIS items are informed by psychotherapy processes that have been linked to outcome and facilitative conditions that have been reframed as individual therapist skills (e.g. alliance bond capacity). Overall, the FIS has predicted psychotherapy outcome. A single study is described in which FIS predicted the therapist effect using multilevel modelling of a large sample of clients who were nested within therapists. We also summarise two additional outcome studies that used experimental designs. One future direction is to better understand how therapists form responses to these difficult moments. We conclude that forming an optimal therapeutic response during challenging, emergent in‐session situations involves responsiveness (Stiles et al., 1998), or finding a response that fits the clients’ needs within any moment.

An apprenticeship model in the training of psychotherapy students. Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial and qualitative investigation

“…Possibly, this demonstration and practical experience in real-world psychotherapy at the very beginning of their careers will provide them with a strong starting point from which to absorb and assimilate all subsequent learning experiences more effectively. The main outcome measure, the FIS performance test, assesses skills in standardized situations in which client variability is controlled for, and has been demonstrated to be highly predictive of client outcomes [ 72 ]. It is designed to tap therapist behaviors that are likely to be of importance regardless of what specific treatment model therapists adhere to and as such, we expect results to be generalizable to therapists of all theoretical orientations.…”

Wer kann, der coacht: Ein Instrument zur Messung interpersoneller Coach-Fähigkeiten

“…B. im Rahmen einer Coachingweiterbildung -erlernbar sind (Uhlin 2011). Es liegen erste empirische Ergebnisse vor, die darauf hindeuten, dass Psychotherapeut/innen-in-Ausbildung, die ein Training in interpersonellen Kompetenzen erhalten haben, höhere FIS-Werte aufweisen als Proband/innen einer Kontrollgruppe, die kein Training erhalten haben (Anderson et al, 2020). Im Coachingkontext berichten Atad und Grant (2020) von einem Anstieg der interpersonellen Kompetenzen (z.…”

“…Es sollten also besonders für die Coaches-in-Weiterbildung mit durchschnittlichen (oder gar unterdurchschnittlichen) Kompetenzratings zu Beginn der Weiterbildung Möglichkeiten geschafft werden, in denen ihre interpersonellen Fähigkeiten weiter ausgebaut werden können. Anderson et al (2020) berichten von Erfolgen eines Trainings zur Steigerung der interpersonellen Fähigkeiten von Psychotherapeut/innenin-Ausbildung. Im Rahmen dieses Trainings werden den Proband/innen in Form von Videoclips gute und schlechte Reaktionen auf schwierige Therapiesituationen demonstriert.…”

Die „Facilitative interpersonal skills“-Übung – Messen therapeutischer Kompetenz mit der deutschsprachigen Version

“…Dieser Befund widerspricht früheren, auf einer geringeren Stichprobengröße basierenden Beobachtungen (Munder et al 2019 Darüber hinaus ist Psychotherapie stets ein interaktionelles Geschehen. In der FIS-Übung wird dies zugunsten der Standardisierung aufgehoben (Anderson et al 2020). Dies ist eine wesentliche Grenze des Formats.…”