An initial evaluation of a clinical psychology practicum training program.

Assessed 2 groups of clinical psychology graduate student trainees (N?=?26) either 3 or 4 times over the 1st 2 yrs of training. Skills measured included the ability to both communicate and discriminate empathic responses. Faculty supervisory ratings of Ss and internship supervisory ratings were obtained. For comparison purposes, data were gathered from 9 graduate trainees who did not undergo systematic skills training. Results indicate that both experimental training groups (receiving skill training) improved in their ability to produce empathic responses as compared with the control group. The training group that received the more intense and experiential training showed greater improvement in ability to discriminate facilitative responses. Faculty ratings during practicum did not reveal improvement; however, internship supervisory ratings did reflect trainee improvement. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)