Entry requirements
Only open to master’s students in Psychology with specialisation Clinical Psychology or Health and Medical Psychology and research master’s students track Clinical and Health Psychology.
Description
Basic Therapeutic Skills is a course in professional skills in which the student will learn to understand and apply basic psychotherapeutic skills in a clinical and health psychological setting. Workgroup sessions consist of supervised and unsupervised meetings where students practice therapeutic skills, reflect upon the therapeutic process with other students and staff, and discuss relevant literature. A central tenet is the process of self-monitoring and reflecting upon one’s own professional development as a therapist.
Course objectives
From a theoretical perspective, students will understand what patients need from a psychotherapeutic relationship in order to benefit from treatment. Students will be informed through lectures and literature discussions during the workgroups.
From a practical perspective, students will learn basic therapeutic skills (such as observational skills, establishing rapport, therapeutic interviewing, handling crises) to facilitate and manage a psychotherapeutic relationship.
Students will learn to critically evaluate their own and their group members’ therapeutic skills, attitude and behaviors and reflect on their own and their group members’ progress as a therapist.
Students will take the first step in using themselves as an instrument in monitoring and evaluating psychotherapeutic processes (such as role plays and mini-therapy), through introspection and self-reflection.
Timetable
For the timetables of your lectures, workgroups and exams, please select your study programme in: Psychology timetables
Semester 1: Lectures Workgroup sessions
Semester 2: Lectures Workgroup sessions
Registration
Course
Students need to enroll for lectures and workgroup sessions. Master’s course registration
Mode of instruction
5 two-hour lectures
2 three-hour work group sessions each week, during 7 weeks.
Full attendance is mandatory. Workgroup sessions consist of supervised and unsupervised meetings where students:
practice and obtain therapeutic skills through exercises, role plays, modelling, and mini therapy sessions;
reflect upon the therapeutic process with other students and staff, and
discuss relevant literature.
A central tenet is the process of self-monitoring and reflecting upon one’s own professional development as a therapist. Using a theoretical model for self-reflection, students will learn how to critically evaluate their progress as a therapist.
Assessment method
Assessment will be based on:
Full attendance to all workgroup sessions;
Engagement in a learning process, which implies an active participation in the workgroup sessions and a willingness to reflect on professional development; and
Written reflections on experiences in managing the therapeutic relationship and building basic therapeutic skills
Students write a final report on their professional development as a therapist, in which they will reflect on therapeutic skills obtained throughout the course, on psychotherapeutic processes, and on feedback received from group members.
The Institute of Psychology follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of this fraud policy.
Reading list
Heaton, J.A. (1998). Building Basic Therapeutic Skills. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Additional reading will be supplied by the staff
Contact information
Dr. Hendrik M. Koopman (for specialisation Clinical Psychology) hkoopman@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Drs. J. Terpstra (for specialisation Health and Medical Psychology) j.a.terpstra@fsw.leidenuniv.nl