The use of technology in psychotherapy training: some research-informed reflections part 7
Efficacy of training
A study of professional training in psychology which had two groups of students with the only difference being style of delivery (eg they had the same tutor) found that
âResults show that students of both groups increased their academic knowledge and social capital, but Computer Supported Collaborative Learning students acquired more group observation skills.â (Mebane et al , 2008)
A study of professional training for psychologists found that âonline students were top performers on competence-based tasks.â (Francescato et al, 2007). They also found that there were no significant differences in “perceived social presence, cooperation and satisfaction”.
Student and tutor quotes supporting efficacy are available in Van Deurzen et al (2007), McIntyre (2011 b), while Morgan et al (2006) highlight the increase in self-reflection.
Dimeff et al. (2015) compared Instructor Lead Training (which was particularly effective at improving motivation) with Online Training (which was the most effective for increasing knowledge), They concluded that the latter may not be sufficient to enable clinicians to achieve a high level of clinical use or proficiency but that is not an issue for UKCP as we have a limit on the proportion.
