1. “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.” Therapy 101: Introducing Medical Students to Psychotherapy Frieda 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. 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 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 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 THERAPY 101 CURRICULUM 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: o Students will be able to describe different therapies and evidence for their use. o Students will be able to apply the concepts of transference and counter transference in the context of therapy and medical treatment. o Students will better understand the experience of therapy. METHODS: DEVELOPING THERAPY 101 (cont’d) Impact: o Increase the perceived value of therapy among providers o Better educated physicians who are able to make referrals more competently o 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 quiz both 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.” 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. On a scale of 1-10, (1-no knowledge to 10-extremely knowledgeable), how would you rate your current knowledge about psychotherapy?