Do relational skills in psychology students increase during their education?

The psychology profession requires different kinds of competencies. In addition to theoretical knowledge, a psychologist is supposed to handle complicated relational situations.

The psychology programs’ educational plans state that the student should develop empathy, be able to create constructive alliances with clients, and increase self-awareness. It is uncertain how these skills are taught and examined.

The aim of the project is to study how relational skills are taught in psychology programs at four universities in Sweden, and to analyze the development of relational skills in psychology student to increase knowledge about effective training methods.The study has two parts: 1) collection of relevant study documents and interviews with teachers and students about perspectives and experiences on relational skills training, and how these are taught and examined.

The interviews will focus on how they understand and value relational skills as aspects of the education, and how skills training is promoted and integrated in the studies. 2) following the actual development of relational skills during education.

Students´ relational skills will be rated with a recently developed observation method, called Facilitative Interpersonal Skills (FIS) where students respond to videotaped simulated clients who stage challenges for the psychologist.

New knowledge about training of relational skills will be of use for both psychology programs, the profession, and the clients they meet.