Search

Background. In Germany, the launch of the new university psychotherapy degree program in autumn 2020 and the wishes of current and future psychotherapists at psychotherapy training institutes have made it necessary to integrate experience-based and competence-oriented teaching into future university and postgraduate curricula. Material and methods. Following Kern's six-step approach to curriculum development, the conceptualization, development, and implementation of a longitudinal curriculum for teaching psychodynamic intervention skills (DYNAMIK curriculum) to future psychological psychotherapists is showcased. Results. A longitudinal curriculum with eight modules using peer role play and standardized patients was developed to teach general and specific psychodynamic intervention skills. The DYNAMIK curriculum was incorporated into the current postgraduate, depth psychology-focused, psychotherapist training program. Conclusion. The DYNAMIK curriculum is an important first step towards longitudinal experience-based and competence-oriented teaching in current postgraduate and future university degree program curricula followed by postgraduate psychotherapist training. Hence, the effectiveness of such curricula and intervention competencies need to be reviewed.

This paper presents the Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network. The research program encompasses a coordinated group of studies adopting a standard protocol and an agreed-on set of standardized measures for the assessment and treatment of social phobia (SP). In the central project (study A), a multicenter randomized controlled trial, refined models of manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy and manualized short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy are compared in the treatment of SP. A sample of 512 outpatients will be randomized to either cognitive-behavioral therapy, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy or waiting list. Assessments will be made at baseline, at the end of treatment and 6 and 12 months after the end of treatment. For quality assurance and treatment integrity, a specific project using highly elaborated measures has been established (project Q). Study A is complemented by 4 interrelated add-on projects focusing on attachment style (study B1), on cost-effectiveness (study B2), on variation in the serotonin transporter gene in SP (study C1) and on structural and functional deviations of the hippocampus and amygdala (study C2). Thus, the Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network program enables a highly interdisciplinary research into SP. The unique sample size achieved by the multicenter approach allows for studies of subgroups (e.g. comorbid disorders, isolated vs. generalized SP), of responders and nonresponders of each treatment approach, for generalization of results and for a sufficient power to detect differences between treatments. Psychological and biological parameters will be related to treatment outcome, and variables for differential treatment indication will be gained. Thus, the results provided by the network may have an important impact on the treatment of SP and on the development of treatment guidelines for SP.

Objective: The patient's sense of capability in mastering future challenges ("self-competence") represents an important therapeutic target. To date, empirical findings concerning the influence of the therapeutic relationship on perceived self-competence remain scarce. Against this backdrop, mutual associations between perceived self-competence, symptom distress and various relationship experiences within inpatient psychotherapy are investigated. Methods: 219 inpatients with heterogeneous diagnoses completed the SCL-90-R, the Relationship Questionnaire RQ1 and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems IIP prior to therapy. Self-competence and relationships to the individual therapist, therapeutic team and fellow patients were assessed weekly using an inpatient questionnaire (SEB). Results: As expected, there were significant negative correlations between self-competence and symptom distress. Patients with more "fearfully avoidant" behavior upon admission experienced relationships during therapy as significantly more negative. Conversely, the quality of relationships to the individual therapist and fellow patients was predictive of a significant part of variance in self-competence upon discharge. Conclusions: A model of mutual interactions is proposed for the variables under investigation. Results suggest that the positive association between the therapeutic relationship and symptom reduction could partly be explained by an improvement in perceived self-competence., Hintergrund: Handlungskompetenz zur Meisterung künftiger Probleme gilt als wichtige therapeutische Zielvariable. Über den Einfluss der therapeutischen Beziehung auf das Kompetenzerleben gibt es bisher kaum empirisch gesicherte Erkenntnisse. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden die Zusammenhänge zwischen Kompetenzerleben, Symptombelastung und Beziehungserfahrungen in stationärer Psychotherapie untersucht. Methodik: Vor Therapie wurden bei 219 Patienten heterogener Diagnosen die Symptombelastung (SCL-90-R), der Bindungsstil (Relationship Questionnaire RQ1) und das interpersonelle Verhalten (Inventar Interpersonaler Probleme IIP) erfasst. Wöchentlich wurde das Erleben von Kompetenzerleben und Beziehungen zu Einzeltherapeut, therapeutischem Team und Mitpatienten (Stationserfahrungsbogen SEB) erhoben. Ergebnisse: Es fanden sich -wie erwartet- negative Zusammenhänge zwischen Kompetenzerleben und Symptombelastung. Patienten mit stärker vermeidendem interpersonellen Verhalten zu Therapie-Beginn nahmen die Qualität der Beziehungen während der Therapie negativer wahr. Umgekehrt konnte die Qualität der Beziehungen zu Einzeltherapeut und Mitpatienten während der Therapie einen Teil der Varianz des Kompetenzerlebens zu Therapie-Ende voraussagen. Schlussfolgerung: Vorgeschlagen wird ein Modell gegenseitiger Wechselwirkungen zwischen den erfassten Merkmalen. Unter anderem sprechen die Ergebnisse dafür, dass ein positiver Zusammenhang zwischen therapeutischer Beziehung und Therapieergebnis teilweise über die Verbesserung des Kompetenzerlebens zustande kommt.