Developing facilitative interpersonal skills: A randomized controlled study of an apprenticeship training for first-year clinical psychology students

Objective This study aimed to evaluate whether apprenticeship training could enhance facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) in first-year students enrolled in a six-year integrated clinical psychology study program, compared to training-as-usual.Method A total of 108 students were recruited and randomly assigned to either training-as-usual or training-as-usual plus apprenticeship. Students in the apprenticeship group participated in one weekly therapy session with different therapists over 10 weeks. FIS were assessed using a performance-based observer-rated test before and after the intervention.Results The apprenticeship group showed a significant improvement in FIS from pre- to post-intervention (d = 0.43, 95% CI [0.19, 0.67], p = .001), while the control group showed a small, non-significant improvement (d = 0.16, 95% CI [−0.06, 0.39], p = .16). The between-group difference was not statistically significant but showed a small effect in the expected direction (d = 0.24, 95% CI [−0.09, 0.58], p = .15). The largest gains were seen in the skills Alliance Bond Capacity and Alliance Rupture Repair Responsiveness.Conclusion While the between-group difference was not significant, the within-group improvement and the small observed effect favoring the apprenticeship group suggest that apprenticeship may be a valuable supplement to traditional training methods typically employed in early training.