Advancing Psychotherapy through Experiential Training and Deliberate Practice

Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD

President, Psychotherapy Division of the American Psychological Association

Contact: trousmaniere@sentio.org

As President of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, I am honored to introduce my presidential initiative aimed at enhancing the field of psychotherapy. The "Advancing Psychotherapy through Experiential Training and Deliberate Practice" initiative underscores the pivotal role of hands-on, practical training and deliberate practice in elevating the competence and effectiveness of psychotherapists. This initiative addresses the evolving needs of our profession and the well-being of our clients by promoting ongoing professional development and the delivery of high-quality therapeutic services.

Psychotherapy stands as a cornerstone of mental health care, providing individuals with the support and tools they need to overcome life's challenges. However, to meet the dynamic demands of modern mental health care, we must emphasize innovative strategies that empower psychotherapists to continually improve their skills and deliver the best possible care. Research suggests that experiential training and deliberate practice can aid in achieving this goal.

The rise of AI, with its capacity to quickly gather and disseminate information, has prompted questions about the value of education centered around information retention and report-writing. In contrast, experiential training remains as relevant as ever. Deliberate practice of challenging therapeutic scenarios and emotionally-charged simulations provides learners with hands-on, real-world experiences that nurture critical thinking, emotional attunement, self-awareness, creativity, and adaptability — qualities that AI cannot replicate.

The initiative has three main components:

1. Promoting Experiential Training & Deliberate Practice: The initiative will encourage psychotherapy training programs to incorporate experiential components that mirror the complexities of psychotherapy practice, including deliberate practice of challenging clinical scenarios.

2. Advancing Research and Innovation: The initiative will inspire empirical research to investigate the impact of experiential training and deliberate practice on psychotherapy outcomes and patient well-being. This research will provide the foundation for evolving best practices, ensuring that psychotherapists are equipped with the most up-to-date evidence-based tools and techniques.

3. Fostering Professional Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: To foster a culture of continuous improvement, the initiative will facilitate networking opportunities and knowledge sharing among psychotherapists. This will enable practitioners to exchange insights, strategies, and best practices, further emphasizing the importance of experiential training and deliberate practice.

The initiative will be implemented in the following ways:

Starting in November, 2023, the APA Division 29 Incoming President (Tony Rousmaniere) will convene a Presidential Initiative Task Force.  The Task Force will aim to have 7-13 members and include stakeholders from relevant areas of mental health, including members who are:

• Clinical supervisors

• Researchers in the field of psychotherapy training or supervision

• Faculty in both graduate and undergraduate academic programs

• Chairs and Domain Reps from the Education & Training and Research Committees and Domains.

The Task Force will conduct work and meet as necessary, with the goal of producing a paper on Recommendations Regarding Experiential Training and Deliberate Practice for Psychotherapy.  The Recommendations Paper will focus on synthesizing the extant peer-review research with the clinical experience of Task Force members to produce concise and practical guidelines in a style that is accessible to stakeholders throughout mental health.  The paper will be submitted to be published in the American Psychologist.   The paper will include Recommendations for the following domains:

• Clinical supervision

• Research

• Administration

• Teaching in both graduate and undergraduate courses

The theme for Division 29 Programming at the Summer 2024 APA Convention will be “Training and Supervision for Psychotherapy”.  The Division 29 president will work to encourage submissions along this theme and will work with the Program Chair to facilitate this process.  The Division 29 president will provide a Presidential Address on this topic and will include an update on the Task Force as part of his Presidential Address and will propose a pre-convention CE workshop on this topic.