Psychotherapy training for psychiatrists: an exploratory study of its impact on training, attitudes, and clinical care

ABSTRACT

The introduction of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International (ACGME-I) psychiatry residency in Singapore heralded unprecedented changes, including the inclusion of psychotherapy training. This study aims to examine the impact of psychotherapy training in residents compared to non-residents, who did not undergo formal psychotherapy training. This exploratory mixed-method study integrates data from a survey measuring self-rated competencies in psychotherapy (n=56) and focus-group discussions (n=10). Residents were more confident in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT: Cohen’s d 0.07 to 0.89) and psychodynamic therapy (PDP: Cohen’s d 0.61 to 1.11). Supervision and competing demands between service and training were cited as factors influencing learning experience. Further evaluation of the impact on patient care will strengthen understanding of psychotherapy on clinical outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychiatry
• psychotherapy
• residency
• training
• medical education

Acknowledgments

We thank Winston Wong for assistance in extracting and anonymizing assessment data from the residency database.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical considerations

This research was approved by NHG Domain Specific Review Board (Ref: 2015/00405).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the NHG-HOMER Grant under Grant NHG-HOMER 2014/B03].

Notes on contributors

Wen Phei Lim

Wen Phei LIM, MBBS (Singapore), M.Med (Psychiatry) is a consultant psychiatrist in Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Visiting Consultant to Dover Park Hospice. Her primary practice is consultation liaison psychiatry, with a special interest in palliative psychiatry and psycho-oncology. She also serves as the Assistant Principal Lead for Psychiatry, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, National Technological University, and is a Core Clinical Faculty Member for the National Healthcare Group Singapore Internal Medicine residency.

Yong Hao Lim

Yong Hao LIM, MSocSc, is a Principal Research Analyst at HOMER (Health Outcomes & Medical Education Research), National Healthcare Group Singapore. He is involved in research and evaluation projects related to education, training and development in pre-professional and postgraduate health professions education.

Issac Lim

Issac LIM, MS, MA, MSc is Head of HOMER (Health Outcomes and Medical Education Research), the research unit of National Healthcare Group Singapore’s Education Office. He is a transdisciplinary social scientist with advanced training in education, organizational behaviour, and sociology, specializing in ethnographic methods. He has a decade of experience studying interprofessional teams. His research interests lie at the intersection of organizational behaviour, health care management, and social network analysis.

Nicholas Chew

Nicholas CHEW, MBBS (Singapore), Grad. Dip. Psychotherapy, M.Med (Psychiatry), MSHPEd is a senior consultant psychiatrist and Chairman Medical Board, Woodlands Health Campus. He is also the Group Chief Education Officer of National Healthcare Group Singapore. He previously served as the Deputy Head of Department, Psychological Medicine in Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he started the HIV Psychiatry and the Post-Stroke Depression Programmes