Deliberate practice exercises help students and trainees rehearse fundamental child and adolescent psychotherapy skills to develop basic competence and hone their own personal therapeutic style.
Each book in the Essentials of Deliberate Practice series contains customized exercises consisting of role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a therapist, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The trainee playing the therapist improvises appropriate and authentic responses to a series of client statements organized into three difficulty levels―beginner, intermediate, and advanced―that reflect common problems and concerns encountered by practitioners who work with children and adolescents.
The first 12 exercises each focus on a single skill, such as observing and elaborating on play, exploring identity through a multicultural orientation, and addressing difficult issues like safety concerns and sex. These are followed by two comprehensive exercises―an annotated transcript and free-form mock therapy sessions―in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single session.
Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines and forms to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.
To demonstrate how deliberate practice can be fully integrated into a professional curriculum, this series features exercises developed and refined within the clinical training curriculum at the Sentio online/hybrid marriage and family therapy (MFT) therapist training program in California, which is where we started developing this series. These exercises, which have been tested at clinical training sites around the world, are used to enhance clinical outcomes within the first hybrid MFT program approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences to fully integrate deliberate practice into its entire curriculum. By integrating these models into its hybrid MFT program in California, Sentio University demonstrates that therapist training graduate programs can use deliberate practice to bridge the gap between theory and clinical mastery through repetitive, feedback-informed practice to support the development of modern, outcome-focused clinicians.
Jordan Bate, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University. She teaches family and child psychotherapy courses, coleads the psychodynamic psychotherapy practicum, and runs the Attachment & Psychotherapy Process Research Lab. Her research centers on understanding therapeutic processes through attachment theory and on the effectiveness of clinical training, including deliberate practice. Dr. Bate is a trainer and supervisor in mentalization-based treatment for children (MBT-C) and President of Section 2 (Childhood and Adolescence) of APA Division 39 (Psychoanalysis). She maintains a private practice in Manhattan, New York working with patients across the lifespan.
Tracy A. Prout, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University. She teaches evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy in the School-Clinical Child Combined Doctoral Program, supervises advanced graduate students in the psychodynamic psychotherapy practicum, and leads the psychodynamic psychotherapy lab at Ferkauf. Dr. Prout is principal investigator for several studies related to Regulation Focused Psychotherapy for Children (RFP-C) and supervises all graduate research assistants who work on these projects. Dr. Prout coleads IMPACT Psychological Services, an integrative, group private practice, with locations in Beacon and Mamaroneck, New York serving children, teens, families and adults.
Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, is president of Sentio University marriage and family therapy (MFT) program in California. He led the development of the online/hybrid MFT program, which is the first MFT therapist training program approved by the California Board of Behavioral Science for MFT licensure that fully integrates deliberate practice. Dr. Rousmaniere is the author/coeditor of many books on psychotherapy training. He is also the executive director of the Sentio Counseling Center, which is Sentio MFT program’s guaranteed practicum site where students provide sliding-scale online therapy in California, and past president of the American Psychological Association’s Division 29.
Alexandre Vaz, PhD, is chief academic officer of Sentio University marriage and family therapy (MFT) program in California. This innovative online/hybrid California MFT degree was the first approved by the California Board of Behavioral Science for MFT licensure to fully integrate deliberate practice into its curriculum to ensure superior clinical outcomes. He is also director of clinical training for the Sentio Counseling Center, which is Sentio MFT program’s guaranteed practicum site where students provide low-cost online couples therapy in California. Dr. Vaz is the author/coeditor of many books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training.
