“Before, I did not have any idea what psychotherapy looks like in practice. Now I have a

1. Therapy 101: Introducing Medical Students to PsychotherapyFrieda Aboul-Fotouh, M.D., Ali Abbas Asghar-Ali, M.D.Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,Baylor College of Medicine Medical students learn little about psychotherapy in medical school. Therapy 101 aims to fill this void. • METHODS: DEVELOPING THERAPY 101 (cont’d) • Impact: • Increase the perceived value of therapy among providers • Better educated physicians who are able to make referrals more competently • Strengthen medical student interest in psychiatry • RESULTS • The six workshops were given once a month over a six month time span. Students were asked to take an anonymous fifteen question multiple choice quizboth at the beginning and at the end of the series. • The graph below shows the quiz results and how students self rated their knowledge in response the question: • WRITTEN FEEDBACK WAS CATEGORIZED • (A sampling of feedback is given below) • Increasing the value of therapy among providers: • “I would recommend these lectures to other medical students because they teach you how to think about patients we all contact, and possible psychological hurdles that could interrupt any doctor-patient relationship.” • Better educated physicians who are able to make referrals well more competently: • “I have much more confidence in recommending psychotherapy and understanding when it is appropriate, and what kind.” • “I am not going into the field of psychiatry, but this has certainly allowed me to understand how to refer and recognize the need for psychotherapy, and I think it will benefit my practice of any specialty greatly.” • Strengthening interest among those considering psychiatry: • “They confirmed my interest in psychiatry because I get exposure to more than just med check appointments.” • “This series helped to confirm my interest in psychiatry, because my interests like in communicating with the patient and participating in the narrative of a patient’s life.” • Suggestions or negative responses: • “More quiz-like multiple choice questions.” • “I would make the sessions closer together. I forgot some of the concepts by the time the next session came around.” • BACKGROUND • Despite evidence in support of psychotherapy as a valuable treatment modality, most physicians have only learned about medications as a treatment tool. • A literature search did not identify a curriculum for medical • students that introduced psychotherapy, its application, and evidence for its use. • Through mentorship with Dr. Asghar and discussion with leaders in medical education and psychotherapy at Baylor, Dr. Aboul-Fotouh developed “Therapy 101: An Introduction to Psychotherapy.” • The purpose of this pilot project was to meet a need for a curriculum to expose medical students to psychotherapy THERAPY 101 CURRICULUM On a scale of 1-10, (1-no knowledge to 10-extremely knowledgeable), how would you rate your current knowledge about psychotherapy? • GOALS OF CURRICULUM • Increase students’ interest in therapy • Develop a broader knowledge about mental health care and a deeper appreciation of psychiatry • Introduce student to a theoretical basis for psychotherapy • Give students practical knowledge of the psychotherapy experience • CONCLUSIONS • A short and engaging curriculum can be a powerful exposure for • students at this level. • Therapy 101 was very well accepted by student as an introduction to psychotherapy. • This course has been integrated into the yearly LACE-MHP at • Baylor College of Medicine. • The success of this pilot project suggests that all medical students may benefit from more exposure to psychotherapy. • METHODS: DEVELOPING THERAPY 101 • Need: No medical student psychotherapy curriculum at Baylor • Resources needed: Time, Audiovisual, Space, Personnel • Activities: Create six modules • Output: Curriculum, Pretest/Posttest, Exit Feedback • Outcomes: • Students will be able to describe different therapies and evidence for their use. • Students will be able to apply the concepts of transference and counter transference in the context of therapy and medical treatment. • Students will better understand the experience of therapy. “Before, I did not have any idea what psychotherapy looks like in practice. Now I have a greater understanding of what to expect, and how actual psychotherapy works.” • PRECEPTOR COMPONENT: • Supervised one-on-one by preceptor • Opportunities to sharpen psychiatry knowledge and skills • Build a mentoring relationship • Discuss career opportunities in psychiatry • Challenges of practicing medicine • Ethical dilemmas that arise during clinical care • Six seminar series titled, Therapy 101: Introduction to • Psychotherapy • Students learn the basics of the practice of psychotherapy • No such curriculum identified in our search of the • literature