Pre‐Post Differences in Facilitative Interpersonal Skills and Self‐Assessment Following Deliberate‐Practice Training

PROBLEM: Although deliberate practice (DP) has shown results in other areas of research, its potential benefits in the field of training psychotheraists are still unclear. OBJECTIVES: To analyze whether DP training improves facilitative interpersonal skills (FIS) and to understand whether the trainees' self-assessment is congruent with their performance. METHOD: A pre-experimental study with a quantitative analysis was carried out in order to analyze the data from the Facilitative Interpersonal Skills Performance Task and Facilitative Interpersonal Skills Self-Report instruments. The study utilized a convenience sample of 23 psychologists in the first year of an advanced specialization program in psychotherapy. In order to compare a hetero with a self-assessment of therapists' performance, the data were collected before and after a DP training. RESULTS: Participants' observer-rated FIS were significantly higher after the DP training than before it. Their self-rated FIS exceeded observer ratings both before and after the training; nonetheless, self-ratings increased in parallel with observed performance, suggesting that participants were aware of their own pre-post change.