Deliberate practice exercises provide trainees and students an opportunity to build competence in essential interpersonal therapy skills while developing their own personal therapeutic style.
These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a clinician, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The clinician improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into three difficulty levels―beginner, intermediate, and advanced―that reflect common client questions and concerns.
Each of the first 10 exercises focuses on a single skill, including developing an interpersonal inventory of patients' relationships, building social skills, and helping patients connect with their own thoughts and emotions and empathize with others. Two comprehensive exercises follow 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 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.
Olga Belik, PhD, is chief psychologist and director of training at Child & Family Development Center in Providence Saint John's Health Center. She is also the national trainer and supervisor with the Interpersonal Psychotherapy Institute with a private practice in forensic psychology. She was chair of the California Psychological Association’s Division II: Training and Education in Professional Psychology. She earned an award for Distinguished Contributions to the Education and Training of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Psychologists from the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs.
Jessica M. Schultz, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and professor of psychology at Augustana College (Rock Island, IL). She has been engaged in clinical work and research in interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for more than 15 years. Recognized as a fellow by the IPT Institute, her IPT training experience includes serving as a presenter, supervisor, and consultant for clinicians across the world. She coauthored the clinical guide Interpersonal Psychotherapy: Clinician’s Handbook (IPT Institute Press) and multiple articles related to IPT. In addition to her academic and training roles, Dr. Schultz maintains a small clinical practice.
Scott Fairhurst, PhD, is the vice president of Outcomes, Training, and Special Projects at Pacific Clinics, a community mental health center in Southern California. As a clinician and program director for over 25 years, his work primarily focuses on children and adolescents with explosive behavior. Dr. Fairhurst has worked with clients in hospitals, residential treatment, and clinics. He promotes value-based care and democratizing clinical data so that clients, executives, clinicians, and supervisors can measure and manage what they consider to be important. He also offers training in de-escalation of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and conflict resolution.
Scott Stuart, MD, is emeritus professor of psychiatry and psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa. He is also director of the Interpersonal Psychotherapy Institute, an international training organization, and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. He has received several teaching awards, including the John Clancy Teacher of the Year Award from the University of Iowa. Dr. Stuart is also the author of the Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Clinician’s Guide.
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.
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.
